LOVELESSxxx
by Piko-Len-10
Summary: Kaito and Gakupo are travelling Princes, and both fall for the same beautiful girl who's hiding a dark past...but could SHE turn out to be a HE? Raiting may change. Based on Lovelessxxx/Imitation Black/Fate Re:Birth. Yoai/Yuri, Kaito/Len/Gakupo
1. Little China Doll

The rain was like bullets, flying fast and hard and slapping harshly against exposed skin, leaving angry red rashes that burned and throbbed with the rhythmically _ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum _of your heart.

And yet two children were out in this hideous weather, children who had just recently become teenagers though their bodies had yet to show it, and they were running, running as fast and as hard as the rain; their breathing laboured and their golden hair spilling messily over their eyes and their hands clasped together -

"Get them! Get them - there they are - _get them - !_"

An enraged shout, followed by the howl of a mob, and the thunderous footfalls of said mob; and the ground seemed to tremble with their anger, and the sky roared with thunder, and flashed with white lightning, momentarily lighting up the tiny village below, and illuminating the hundreds of faces twisted gruesomely with fury, and the glinting swords and dripping pitch-forks they carried -

"_There! There!_ Get them - get them - hurry - _kill them - !_"

Another clap of thunder, and a blinding flash of lighting, and then the world was deadly black, with the screams and screeches of the mob booming in the air, louder then even the monstrous down pour; and the children continued to run, desperately trying to ignore the horribly loud thumping of the adults footfalls, and the metallic hiss of metal scraping against metal as men bumped into one another, and those sharp, sharp weapons clinked together, ringing with blood lust -

"Ah!"

The girl slipped, and her small body smashed against the wet, muddy earth, and her brother cried out in surprise and fell with her, as his hand was intertwined with her own; and he immediately recovered, and wrapped his arms about her shoulders, and she clung to his shirt, suddenly sobbing, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the rain -

"Len, I - I can't - I'm too tired - I'm scared - I can't -"

"It'll be alright, Rin, come on, we'll get away - we always have - come on, Rin, I'm not leaving you here! Hold onto me -"

And so she did, she gripped his shoulders as they her very soul depended on her hold, and he scooped her up in his arms effortlessly, as though she were light as a feather, and, despite his own overwhelming exhaustion, he ran, and he ran, and ran and ran and ran and ran -

Another strike of lightning, splitting the sky, and the light blinded his blue eyes, and everything shone with an ungodly shine; and suddenly, they were falling, brother and sister, clinging madly to one another as the earth crumbled away like wet paper and they tumbled uncontrollably down a steep slop, and rocks and twigs and other hard surfaces clawed at their tender skin, and they crashed against the earth, bleeding and aching and drenched to their very core -

"...Len...Y-you okay -...Hey, Len...? Len? Len! _Len!_"

The sister grabbed her brother by the shoulders, and shook him roughly, and she received a groan in response; but he did not rise from his uneasy slumber, and his eyes rolled crazily in their sockets, and crimson liquid tricked down his neck, gushing freely from a deep and bloody gash on the back of his head, dying his golden hair scarlet.

"Len! _Shit_ - Len! Len, please wake up! Oh, Len, Len, please! _Please! _Oh, Len, don't die -"

"Hello?"

A voice called out over the deafening _kssssh _of the rain, and a teenage girl appeared, a teenage girl who really did look like a teenager, with defined hips and building breasts and a narrow face, complete with brilliant green eyes and creamy, smooth skin and a head of impossibly long teal-coloured hair, strung back in twin-tails that were thin and sleek and dark with the rain water; and her peasant-attire clung to her body, dyed a deep and muddy brown by the rain, and she was shivering visibly, hugging her arms close and peering helplessly through the rain-streaked gloom.

"Is someone there? Please, come out! I - I'm helplessly lost - I need to get back to the castle - Princess Miki will kill me if I don't - "

"**HELP ME**! My brother is hurt! Please, Len will - Len will die if -"

The sister's shriek was interrupted by a harsh sob that shook her very frame, and the new teenager gasped, horrified by what she'd heard, and she hurried over, tripping and stumbling but always just managing to save herself on some low growing branch or a rise in the earth, and quite quickly she'd reached the girl and her bleeding brother, and she hastily assessed the situation and removed her apron and wrapped it tightly above his head, hoping to stall the bleeding, and gathered him in her arms.

"Come on - I think there's a village up the hill - "

"NO! Not there! We'll be killed - please, you said castle? Princess Miki's castle? I know the way, even in this down pour, take us there and - and - I...I'll do anything! Please! Just don't let Len die!"

"What? K-killed..? O-okay, come on, then - help me - he's heavier then he looks - "

And then they were hurrying through the night, with the screeches of thunder over head and the furious wails of the mob echoing cruelly across the landscape, and the sister rushing ahead to lead the green-girl, her blue eyes recognizing the path even in the weather, even in the darkness, and they ran, and the brother whimpered beneath his breath, as he was trapped in a dream, trapped in a dream where a woman with golden hair cackled and men with whips smirked evilly as they carved trenches into his back with their thick, leather weapons, and blood dyed his world red, and his mind swam with searing pain, red-hot and agonizing, and the woman just kept laughing, laughing and laughing and _laughing -_

_"Please stop! It hurts!"_

_"Foolish child! This pain will continue until you draw your final breath - and, even then, I will find you, and** he** will have you!"_

A flash of green caught his eye, and a person was standing at the door, a person clad in entirely black with a wild mess of green hair spilling over his eyes -

And the woman just kept laughing -

_laughinglaughing**laughinglaughinglaughing-**_

"_**LEN!**_"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter <strong>O**ne **_

_**:: **Little China Doll **::**_

* * *

><p>"God, that was a shit trip. And, damn, Miki just <em>would not shut up<em>, would she? Just talking and talking and talking and talking! I felt as though my ears were going to bleed! Yeah, she's a pretty princess but that doesn't mean she gets to talk for hours on end, jeez.."

Prince Shion Kaito sighed heavily and closed his dark blue eyes, rubbing his temples as his childhood friend, Prince Kamui Gakupo, continued to chatter on beside him whilst they waited in the spacious parlour, where the walls shone white and all the glimmering windows were framed with gold and blooming roses - in fact, there were roses everywhere, blooming proudly and beautifully and filling the air with their heavenly aroma.

It wasn't a surprise that there were roses everywhere, since they were in the wealthy kingdom of Rosemaria, awaiting the return of Princess Miki and Princess Kamui Megpoid Gumi, Gakupo's younger sister. The talkative princesses had been swept away by a tidal wave of maids clad in their glossy black uniforms, crimson roses sprouting from their collars, and they had left the startled princes alone in the parlour.

They were here for a Royal Ball, which would be held in two weeks time. When Miki asked why they had come so early - as it only took around two or three days to reach her kingdom from both his and Kaito's - Gakupo had smirked devilishly, and replied: "Because we're cool like that." And, of course, Miki had swooned over the twenty-year-old prince and had giggled her little heart out - while Kaito resisted the urge to bash his head against the wall.

The _real _reason they had come early was a much more serious and rather complicated matter that concerned Kaito and Kaito only, but Gakupo had sensed his friend's anxiety, and had graciously offered to accompany him on the fleeting journey to the Rosemaria Kingdom.

Kaito would always love his purple-haired friend for coming with him, but..

"And, _gosh_, Gumi -"

"GAH! For the love of God, Gakupo, would you _shut it?_"

Kaito's tone was harsh and loud, but Gakupo just grinned in response, and smacked Kaito over the shoulder. Gakupo came from a country where the rank of Prince and King was won through battle, whereas Kaito did not, and the result was that Gakupo was very strong; the blow, though light, almost knocked Kaito off his seat.

"I was waiting for you to shut me up. I don't think you notice, but I said the same sentence three times over."

"Oh? Did you? It all sounded like pointless gibberish to me."

Gakupo's purple eyes twinkled with amusement as Kaito pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing like a three-year-old.

"Come now, Kaito-chan, don't pout. You're not a baby." Gakupo said mockingly, snickering, and Kaito glared at him. He was thoroughly irritated with the world - or, more specifically, his traditionalist father - and did not appreciate Gakupo's making fun of him.

"Shut up, Purple-top."

"Oh, did I hurt widdle Kaity-whity's feelings?"

"GO DIE IN A DITCH!"

"Temper, temper!" Gakupo wiggled a gloved finger in Kaito's face, which he lashed out at with his own gloved hand, but Gakupo was much faster then Kaito ever would be, and had removed his hand from striking range before Kaito could so much as blink.

Kaito glared - but then stop and blinked in surprise when he saw Gakupo's face had suddenly lost it's humour and was serious, his narrow eyes boring into his skull.

"...What? Gakupo, what?"

"You need to calm down. You're going to meet Meiko-hime whether you want to or not, and screaming and kicking like a little baby won't improve matters."

Kaito flinched at the cold and authoritative tone Gakupo assumed, and suddenly Kaito felt very small and weak and insignificant, his pathetic frame dwarfed by the massive and intimidating Kamui Gakupo. Unless Gakupo was fighting with him, it was quite easy for Kaito to forget that his best friend was actually a samurai with much experience in battle despite his young age and was very wise - far wiser then Kaito could ever hope to be.

And what he said was completely right.

Kaito would have to meet the famous Lady Sakine Meiko sometime. She was the daughter of a warlord, and was rumoured to be just as fierce - if not fiercer - then her blood-thirsty father, and was renowned for her skill with a sword.

Kaito had never met Meiko, but his father's word was law, and when he had decided Kaito would marry the Woman of Red - as she was sometimes called - it was like receiving a command from the Lord God himself. Kaito was now bound to marry a woman he had not even once laid eyes on, let alone spoken to, whether he liked it or not.

The hardness in Gakupo's expression melted away, and his eyes filled with sorrowful sympathy, and he placed a consoling hand on Kaito's shoulder.

"Cheer up, Kaito." He said, his voice lighter and more cheery. "Marriage isn't the end of the world. You'll learn to love her."

"Easy for you to say," Kaito muttered. "You're not the one getting married."

"But I will be, eventually. Once you announce the marriage publicly, Father will rush to find me a wife. He doesn't like to be beaten by anyone, you know - and I'm twenty, after all, and you're only eighteen. Being beaten to marriage by a child is a horrible insult."

"I'm not a child!"

Gakupo smirked.

"Whatever you say, ice-cream lover..."

"I'm not! I'm eighteen, damnit! I'm an adult!"

"Hmm..."

"GAH, YOU EGGPLANT WHORE!"

Half an hour flew by, and presently the two princesses returned with an army of maids at their flanks. Miki looked stunning in her crimson dress that poofed out widely at the waist, decorated with scarlet roses, and her hair was strung back in a waterfall of red-brown curls. Gumi looked equally breathtaking in her emerald green dress that matched her short, lime-green hair and bright green eyes; it was a little tighter then Miki's, but did not reveal too much of her flawless, seventeen year old frame. Gumi had originally planned to wear a kimono, like Gakupo, but she had decided against it at the last minute.

Miki, being the Princess of Rosemaria, was their host, and hastily led them to the gardens, where she said they would be having lunch. The gardens were very extensive, and seemed to go on forever; and there was a rainbow of vivid colours, some of which the visiting royals had never seen before, and they stood, awe-struck, whilst Miki talked on.

The lunch was set up on a long, gold table placed on a patch of grey stone work in a clearing, which was boxed in with rows and rows of blooming flowers. Kaito slipped into his seat; it was stiff-backed but comfortable, and the cushion was a rich red in colour. Gakupo pulled one out of Gumi, and waited until she was seated before sitting down himself.

Miki remained standing, and tapped her silver spoon against her wine glass, calling for their attention.

"I would like to thank you all for coming!" She squealed, her face positively glowing. "Mother could not be with us at the moment, and Father passed away a good two decades ago - I'm so happy you all excepted _my _invitation! The Ball isn't for another two weeks, so I'll have the servants - and myself, of course - give the grand tour of the castle and the local town! I hope you enjoy yourselves!"

Gumi, Gakupo and Kaito all clapped and smiled as Miki curtseyed and sat down, still beaming. She and Gumi instantly began to talk about something completely random, and with such fluency that Kaito was almost certain the conversation had been rehearsed before hand.

He and Gakupo glanced at one another. Unlike women, they weren't sure how to start a conversation out of nothing. They just stared for a while, silent; then the servants arrived with steaming plates of golden-brown chicken and freshly baked bread and bowls of salad glinting with water droplets.

"MY CHICKEN!"

"I DON'T THINK SO ICE-CREAM FREAK!"

"WHO YOU CALLING AN ICE-CREAM FREAK YOU EGGPLANT ASS?"

Meanwhile, unknown to Kaito and the others, a lonely figure was making it's way through the garden, equally ignorant of their presence. The figure was quite small and delicate in structure, and, wearing the rippling blue dress, one could only assume it was female. She was walking slowly over the grassy ground, smiling slightly at the beautiful flowers, and she reached up and plucked one from a branch; a snowy white rose that sparkled with beads of liquid that shimmered and glimmered like tiny pearls. She brought the flower to her nose and inhaled deeply, then sighed in bliss.

Then she continued on, carefully placing one foot before the other, for she was wearing high heels, and they were shoes she had never attempted to walk in before. The uneven ground only made the trek that much more difficult, and it was rather tempting to escape back to the castle, where everything was flat and even, perfectly build for these dainty _horrors_ other women called 'high heels', but the garden was too beautiful to be ignored, and, besides, the whole castle was in chaos - something about Princes visiting, but the girl had not paid much attention.

Presently, Kaito finished his meal, and patted his belly, smiling contently. He had never eaten such glorious food. His main diet back home was fish, because his country's main source of wealth was selling the fish and various other sea creatures they collected from their vast and life-thriving waters. It was good food, apparently great for helping your brain develop, but after weeks of eating nothing more then fish and salad, a change like this was welcome.

He glanced around and saw Gakupo was still eating, and Gumi and Miki were lost in a heated conversation about _something._ What that _something _was would forever be a mystery to Kaito, because he couldn't speak Girl-Talk.

"Well...I'm going to go walk around for a bit." He announced, standing and gently pushing his chair in and bowing politely to Miki, who's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. "These gardens are beautiful. I'd like to have a look around, if that's okay."

"Of course. Would you like a servant to accompany you?"

"No thank you. I'll be find on my own."

"Alright, then. Enjoy your walk."

"Thank you."

Kaito walked aimlessly through the gardens, focusing on nothing but the sheer beauty of the place. So many flowers and colours! The air was thick with their mingling scents, and in some places the result was divine, and forced Kaito to stop where he stood and inhale so deeply his lungs almost burst through his chest; and in other places the result was sickly sweet or just plain sickening, and made his eyes water. The flowers were all arranged to give off the best of their colours; hot colours gathered together on one side, with cold colours on the other, with tall trees and small trees with wide leaves and thin leaves framing the rows.

"Wow. This place is amazing...I wish we had stuff like this had home. There's not enough space, though..." He sighed, scratching his neck. "Ah, well. At least I get to see this..." He frowned. "I wonder if Meiko-san will be able to adjust to my country if she'd accustom to scenery like this...Will she force me to move to her country? She's the daughter of a warlord, so I wouldn't put it past her...Probably knows how to cut my head clean off with a bloody butter knife..."

He shuddered as the mental image of an enraged warrior princess smacking him up and down his own palace, demanding they return to her country, while his father looked on, helpless, and his younger sister, Kaiko, laughed hysterically in the corner.

He scowled. Damn Kaiko. Even in his imagination...!

Kaito shook his head in exasperation, and -

"Ow!"

He froze, startled. Had he just heard a voice?

"Ah, my ankle...jeez, these stupid shoes...! Why does she - _ow!_"

Yep, that was definitely a voice, and it was coming from around the very bend he'd been about to take. Walking soundlessly, Kaito carefully made his way to the corner, and snuck behind a conveniently placed oak tree that completely hid his lean, tall build from view. He peered around the edge, and gasped at what he saw.

There was a girl, probably no older then fourteen, sitting on the ground. Well, she wasn't really sitting - one leg was tucked awkwardly beneath her, while the other was stretched out, and she was feeling around her ankle carefully, wincing through clenched teeth as her dainty fingers found a particularly sensitive area.

She was wearing a stunning dark blue dress that was made in such a way that the huge materials of silky material over lapped one another like giant lily pads, framed in glossy black frills that fluttered with even the lightest twitch of movement, and there was a large black bow and blue rose at her throat, and another wrapped tight about her slime waist. Her wild, spiky golden hair was held back in a loose, curling pony-tail, and several thick locks had fallen before her face and completely covered her right eye. There was one particularly spiky strand that stuck up in the air, defying gravity. The one visible eye was a breathtaking shade of green that left Kaito speechless, utterly lost in it's emerald green depths; with flakes of blue and gold that shimmered and twinkled with a brilliant light of their own. What little skin that was visible - her face and a small fraction of her neck - was creamy and smooth-looking; the type you just longed to run your fingers over.

...She was also always wearing black cat ears and a matching cat tail, but Kaito didn't notice those until later; after he'd gotten over how beautiful this mystery girl was.

"Ngh!" She hissed suddenly, making Kaito jump; he realized he'd been staring, and blushed bright red in embarrassment and a little in shame.

"It hurts.." The girl whimpered. "Stupid shoes.."

Kaito risked another glance, and saw she was wearing high heels. They weren't the highest heels he had ever seen, but they were high enough to cause the inexperienced women problems. She'd tripped, he concluded, and had somehow injured her ankle in the process - probably by landing on it awkwardly.

"...Um, Miss, are you alright?" Kaito asked, making his presence known; he stepped out from his hiding place and into the full view of the sun.

The girl's head jerked up, shock written all over her features.

And, instantly, her eye was cold as ice.

"Who are you?" She growled, eye narrowed in suspicion. She could see he was wealthy, being dressed in such fine, vividly coloured clothing, but that didn't make him trustworthy - if anything, it made him more of a threat.

Kaito swallowed nervously. The girl had every right to be afraid and cautious; he was, after all, a fully grown man, and she was a tiny girl with limbs like twigs, and he would have overpowered her in an instant; but her harsh, accusing tone stung all the same.

"P-please don't be mad, I heard you fall, and I came to see if you were hurt." Kaito explained hurriedly, the words tumbling out of his mouth in an anxious rush of letters. They all crashed together in his haste and made the sentence difficult to understand, but the girl did not request he repeat himself, so he hurried on.

"M-my name is Kaito - I'm a visitor in the castle. Um...back to what I originally said. Are you alright?"

The girl stared at him; silently weighing her options and judging his response. She obviously wasn't the type of her girl to trust strangers easily, but, after a few moments of careful consideration, she smiled faintly, and her expression softened somewhat.

"...I'm alright, I think. My ankle just hurts a little..." She explained, twitching her head in the direction of the injured ankle. Kaito looked at it, and cringed. Was it _supposed_ to be bent that way?

"Can you walk?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"Try."

Kaito held out a hand, and she took it, but only after a brief moment of weary hesitation. As she put some weight on her wounded limp, a fiery pain shot up her leg so suddenly that she cried out in pained shock, and lost her balance as her foot twisted with her abrupt and frantic movements, and she began to fall, hurtling towards the hard earth -

But Kaito caught her in his strong arms, and held her fast against his chest. The girl gasped in surprise, and blushed. Unknown to her, Kaito was blushing, too, his cheeks a deep shade of crimson; he was _very_ aware of how close they were and how his large hands easily enclosed around her tiny waist. She felt so fragile, like a little China doll; like even the faintest of touches could shatter her creamy skin like thin glass.

"T-thank you," the girl murmured into his chest. She wanted to push off him, to put some breathing space between them, but with her ankle in this state, she could barely move. "for c-catching me."

"Th-that's f-f-fine," Kaito squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

The girl blinked; and then she giggled, and her giggle was like wind whispering through silver wind chimes, and Kaito's heart melted into a puddle of goo that popped and bubbled at his feet. He gazed at her face, and saw how flushed her round cheeks were, and how her laughter caused her to smile brightly; she looked absolutely adorable.

"I-I, um, guess that means you can't stand." Kaito stammered.

The girl's smile faded and was replaced by a worried frown.

"Yeah...I don't think I can. I won't be able to walk..."

She sounded quite sad, and rather annoyed with herself and her stupid weakness. Kaito's heart twisted with sympathy. It wasn't her fault the ground was uneven, and high heels were so difficult to walk in, and the human body was so easily damaged! She shouldn't be blaming herself!

_Gah..._how could he fix this? She couldn't walk, and he didn't want to leave her alone in such a helpless position - Queen's palace or not, there were creeps everywhere - so what to do? It wasn't like he could carry her -

Wait.

"It's okay!" Kaito shouted gleefully, grinning and startling the girl yet again. "I-I'll just carry you!"

"Huh?" The girl spluttered, but before she'd even registered what Kaito had said, his arms had slipped under her legs and twisted around her torso, and suddenly she was in the air, her shoulder and side pressing against Kaito's warm chest.

"Eeeeek!" She shrieked, blushing a shade of red unknown to man. "Wha-what-what are you d-d-doing?"

"Well, you can't walk, so I figured I'd just carry ya!"

"B-but -"

"It's alright right! Now, off we go to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

"What? B-but - wait - waaaaah!"

The girl clung to his chest for dear life as he galloped through the garden like a horse on a rampage. She squeezed her eyes shut as her hair flapped crazily with the strong wind that was stirred by his movements, and she squeaked and squealed and 'waaaaah'-ed with very turn.

_What a cute sound, _Kaito thought, chuckling.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>__I do not own __**Vocaloid **__or __**Vana'N Ice **__and their Len-in-a-dress related works._

Heh. Thought I'd write yet another story. That's three I've got on the go now...

Anyway, hello and thank you for reading! This is a fanfiction based of Vana'N Ice's Len-in-a-dress songs, such as LOVELESSxxx, which is my favourite, closely followed by Imitation Black. I've decided to set this in a world a bit like early 18th Century Britain, the time when all women wore dresses and no exceptions. A girl wearing pants at the time was extremely strange, just like a man wearing a dress is considering extremely strange in our time.

Yoai. And Yuri. Don't like, don't read.

I've always liked Kaito x Len over Gakupo x Len, but I'm willing to go the other way, or do Kaito x Len x Gakupo threesome xD. Also, the rating may change to "M" ( because I wanna write some pretty..._intense..._scenes between Kaito and Len, or Gakupo and Len *-* ) And...well, the fic MAY get darker, if the story line goes how I want it to do...*cackles like a mad man*

I read through it, but I may have missed some mistakes, and I apologize for any you found.

Please click the review button! I wanna know if this is any good and worth continuing.


	2. Enter Rin

The room was spacious and open, with several long windows framed in gold and rich red roses that allowed rays of watery sunlight to spill in through the glass, and the walls and floors were made from stones that might have made the room dark and ominous if they hadn't been painted in such a calm, creamy shade, and there were roses of all colours gathered in the corners and creeping around the room on vivid green vines, spiked with tiny, glinting thorns.

All in all, the room was a rather cheerful and bright one, but the mood of the current occupancy seemed to ebb into the air itself, and made everything seem dark and depressing; as though a thick veil of black hung above their very heads.

Seven minsters were clustered around a round table that glowed dimly with polish, and none of the men were happy; they were all burning with impatience and frustrated rage, barely contained within their ancient frames. They were all elderly men, most with more then one chin, all with a thousand wrinkles running the down length of their faces, and beady black eyes that sunk into their aged heads. They were all dressed well and looked very much like wealthy aristocrats, with golden buttons and velvet vests and glossy black pants.

You see, they'd been waiting in this stone-room for almost an hour now, anticipating the arrival of Her Highness Fujiwara Rose Miki. But the red-eyed woman had failed to show - and failed to deliver an adequate explanation.

So, basically, seven old men wearing tight pants and heavy jackets had been trapping in a stone room for the last hour, waiting for a Princess who had probably completely forgotten about this meeting, with nothing but the company of an extremely nervous butler, standing anxiously beside the door.

The butler was quite small and delicate, and, wearing black pants, a black vest and white, long-sleeved shirt, one could only assume the butler was male. He had yellow-gold hair that shimmered brightly in the sunlight, and was strung back in a very neat and well brushed pony-tail that curved ever so slightly at the end. His eyes were very big, and a brilliant shade of emerald greens, with flakes of blue and gold sparkling in their depths. He was tiny, and took up hardly any space at all.

And, naturally, as the butler was the only non-minister here, he was the victim of the angry ministers' combined wrath.

"You there, butler! Where on earth is Her Ladyship Princess Miki? She is quite late!"

"You had better get me an explanation for this outrage, boy!"

"I can have you executed, you now, you filthy peasant trash."

"Do you have any idea how incredibly important this meeting is? It concerns Lady Highness Queen Sonika's health!"

"I'll shall have you hanged for this!"

"I have better things to do then sit around and wait for a fussy, pampered princess!"

"Why is the rum gone?"

"I-I don't bloody know!" The butler shrieked, blazing green eyes brimmed with tears. He did not cry often and the fact that these annoying old men could bring tears to his eyes filled him with red-hot shame that almost stung as badly as a swift and harsh slap to his cheek. He was furious at them all, for all their cowardly threats and childish whining and suffocating smugness; they acted as though they were above everyone else - perhaps even above the law - and could treat _uneducated street-trash_ like the butler however they damn well liked.

Well. If they were so _damn smart_, couldn't they see he had no _bloody idea_ where that dumb, air-head of a woman was? That the last he'd heard, she'd been leading His Highnesses Prince Kamui and Prince Shion around the palace, and had disappeared into the labyrinth of flora she called a garden? _Honestly!_

"How dare you speak to us in such a disgraceful manner!" A minister huffed indignantly. He had a puffy white moustache that resembled a large mouse, and every time his lips moved, the moustache twitched as though it really were a mouse, trying to wriggle away from his face.

"I must speak with Princess Miki about keeping her servants in check."

Oooooh, that _does it!_ The butler opened his mouth, intending to unleash upon them a volley of the foulest, most graphic insults and vile phrases he could think of, but a little voice that sounded alarmingly similar to the calm and lulling voice of his precious sibling suddenly spoke up in the back of his mind, and gently soothed away his restless anger.

_Calm down, _the voice purred. _Getting mad with them will solve nothing. Think of a solution._

The butler listened, and took a deep, steadying breath.

Yes, that was true. Getting made at them would solve nothing - unless he was suicidal, and wanted to be publicly hanged before the day was out.

So he wracked his brains for a solution, while the minsters hissed and spat arguments amongst themselves. The butler wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he found in dangerous situations like these, he could get his stubborn brain to work.

"M-ministers, please calm down." He began, and he smiled in what he hoped was a pleasant, reassuring manner. "Please, I will...uh...I will fetch Princess Miki! So, please, wait a little longer? I'm sure the Princess has a perfectly reasonable explanation for missing the meeting."

Not likely, but it sounded nice to say.

There was a brief moment of hushed whispering, during which the ministers quietly considered his proposal and the butler stood trembling by the door. After what seemed like a life time of muted discussion, mouse-minister straightened and cleared his throat, calling for the butler's attention.

"Very well." He said. "Go and find Lady Fujiwara - and be quick about it!"

The butler hastily threw himself into an awkward bow, then fled from the room, slamming the door behind him and not even pausing to consider the impression it left on the ministers. He was more concerned with _getting the hell away._

_GAH! Stupid old geezers! Puttin' so much pressure on me...! _The butler, charging down the hall, clawed furiously at his neatly done hair. He would re-do it immediately after his task was completed. _Gah! And Miki - she probably forgot! Those Princes **were **pretty damn hot (nice asses). Damnit...oh, my precious sibling! Why, oh why, did we ever get involved with that forgetful nut-case?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter <strong>T**wo**_

_**:: **Enter Rin **::**_

* * *

><p>"Our own personal servants?"<p>

Gakupo jerked his head up as the sound of his sister's voice reached his ears. Up until that moment, he'd been drifting off in his own little world, idly wondering when the blue-haired Kaito would return and help smother his rapidly building boredom; but Gumi had raised her voice slightly as she inquired to Miki about her suggestion, and Gakupo guessed she was trying to get his attention - to stop his mind from wondering too far.

"Yes." Miki replied, as she delicately placed her golden fork upon the table. "I thought it would help you all settle in, you know? Get used to life here in my palace. I'm sorry to say, but I won't be around _all _the time. I've got a lot of things to do, what with Mother's illness and _new friends_ " - she winked at Gumi, who grinned - "to take care of."

Gakupo frowned, confused. _New friends? What on earth does she mean by that?  
><em>

"What do you think, Nii-san?" Gumi asked, swivelling in her seat so she faced Gakupo directly and she was smiling broadly and her eyes were twinkling with a knowing spark. Gakupo's frown hardened. Those two were in on some little secret - and were, apparently, not about to fill him in.

"It sounds like a good idea." Gakupo praised Miki, and her smile widened with delight. "I imagine Kaito would get lost pretty quickly without a guide." With that thought in mind, Gakupo's purple eyes flickered to the bushy green hedges that grew proudly a few meters away, and beyond them the vividly coloured world of flowers that was Princess Miki's garden.

Was Kaito lost? The thought was not as ridiculous as it seemed. Kaito didn't have the greatest memory on the planet, and easily found himself stranded when left to wander to new places like these. Gakupo leaned over slightly, so he could peer right down the grassy garden path that veered sharply off to the right, with an explosion of flowers - reds and yellows and oranges and pinks - sprouting enthusiastically on all sides. They swayed gently in the cool breeze, whispering as their stems and leaves and petals lightly brushed together, and it was almost as though the entire garden was living and speaking in hushed, murmuring voices.

Perhaps Kaito wasn't lost. Perhaps he was simply mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this place.

_Yes,_ Gakupo reasoned, and he shifted in his seat so he faced the front, and took another deep sip from his goblet of wine. _That's probably it. I'd stand around and stare as well, though flowers aren't really that great of an interest to me._

"Miki? Is something wrong?" Gumi asked worriedly, as her new friend tapped her chin thoughtfully and glared off at the sky, her lips pressed together in a pout of concentration.

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's just that..." Miki trailed off, and frowned deeply, and her eye brows knitted together. "It's just that I feel as though I've forgotten something rather important -"

"GAH! DAMNIT, STOP PUNCHING ME YOU LITTLE DEVIL - _**GAH!**__ WHY!_"

"LET ME GO!"

The enraged shrieking sounded abruptly and _loudly _from the garden, and all three royals jumped several feet in the air. Miki squealed with shock and Gakupo leapt from his chair and Gumi grabbed hold of Miki's shoulders, placing her body in front of the Princess as though protecting her from the sound waves themselves. They listened, and quite quickly heard the thunderous _thump-thump-thump_ of feet slapping against the earth; but the footsteps were frantic and uneven, as though the person running was stumbling across the path.

"WOULD YOU - STOP HITTING ME! I'M NOT LEAVING A DEFENCELESS GIRL -"

"DON'T CALL ME A GIRL!"

"YOU ARE A GIRL - _**GAH!**__ GOD FREAKING DAMNIT, STOP THAT!"_

"LET ME GO** - **_**WAAAAAH!**_"

A second later, Kaito slid - yes, he literally _slid_ - into the stone patch, after taking a sudden and violent turn that almost sent him sprawling in the dirt. Gakupo stared, but not at the Prince; at the thrashing ball of black and blue that was clawing viciously at Kaito's chest. Or had been. The abrupt change of direction had startled her as much as Kaito's howling at startled them, and now she clung to the very chest she'd been trying to disembowel, trembling visibly with fright.

They all stared at Kaito.

Gumi's jaw dropped.

Miki's brain appeared to have shut down.

Gakupo was in a similar state.

Silence.

And then:

"...Sup." Kaito said finally, grinning sheepishly.

"..."

Kaito coughed, and straightened himself. Gakupo just stared. Trying to comprehend the fact Kaito had just slid - _slid!_ - into the clearing with a _freaking cat-girl _clasped firmly in his grasp, beating the crud out of him and his poor chest until a mere few seconds ago -

"LEN~!" Suddenly, Miki bounced from her seat and launched herself onto Kaito, who screeched with shout and surprise, and the girl in his arms made that 'waaah!' noise again as they all fell into a heap. Miki wrenched the girl from Kaito's arms and hugged her tightly in her own - and buried the girl's face in her cleavage.

"Len~!" She sang. "Len, Len, Len, Len~! How I've missed you~! We've all been so busy, haven't we, Lenny~!"

"Mmmph mhhp mimi!" Was her reply, muffled by - well, Miki's breasts. Her entire face and neck were bright red with a blush. She pinched Miki's waist - hard - and Miki squeaked with pained surprise, and, taking advantage of the weakened hold, Len wriggled and limped away - only to fall right back into the hands of Kaito.

"You shouldn't be walking! You're hurt!" Kaito insisted, but Len shook him off and glared furiously at him.

"Leave me alone!" She commanded shrilly; her voice wavering. "I thought I was going to die with you running around like that! I nearly at a heart attack!"

"Well," Kaito huffed, scratching his neck nervously. "I apologize."

Len's pale pink lips were still jammed together in an expression that might have look enormously terrifying on Gakupo, and rather intimidating on Kaito, but could manage no more then making Len looking _utterly adorable _on her face, and her bright green-blue eyes sparkled with tears.

"...I forgive you, I guess." She mumbled. Kaito beamed, and flung his arms around her tiny neck, and Len squeaked with surprise and blushed ruby red.

"Wha-what are you doing -!"

"I'm hugging you, _duh_. What else does it look like?"

"L-let me go!"

"You owe me a hug, Len." Kaito said, and Len blushed at the informal use of her name. "You were beating the hell of out of me all the way here."

"..."

"WAAAAH!" Miki wailed suddenly, and all eyes snapped to her. "Len-chi, how could you betray me like this? I thought we were in love!" She collapsed and started balling all over the place in mock hysteria, and Len gasped and tore herself away from Kaito and his bewildered expression and limped over, stuttering madly as she tried to console the weeping Princess, while Gumi cackled uncontrollably, clutching her stomach and doubling over and tears streaming down her face, and Kaito gaped at Len like the girl had gone and grown a second head right in front of him.

Gakupo blinked.

War had not trained him for a situation as bizarre as this one.

He really wasn't sure how to respond to all of the craziness.

/

They retired to the library. It was a massive room, with towering walls of a pale, lulling blue shade and shelves that climbed to the ceiling and glowed dully with polish and were full to bursting with books on every subject imaginable. They were greeted by two servants - a butler named Utatane Piko, who's puffy hair was white as snow, and his eyes coloured with separate tones of sky-blue and emerald-green; and an energetic maid named Nekomura Iroha, who's hair was a sandy shade of orange-pink and her eyes were huge as moon, and shimmered a brilliant hue of rusty amber - and Piko quickly tended to Len's ankle, wrapping and rewrapping the injured ligament in rolls of pasty white bandages. She murmured a polite thank you, and patted his arm warmly; Piko blushed pink and scampered away, obviously embarrassed. Iroha snickered.

"You should have told me right away you were hurt, Len-chi!" Miki whined, as she seated herself down on the crimson chairs they had been provided with. The back of the chairs were lined with gold silk, which was threaded with freshly blooming roses. "I wouldn't have tackled you otherwise."

"Yes, you would have," Len grumbled, and though she sounded irritated, she was smiling all the same. A timid, little smile, Gakupo noted - barely more then a twitch of her perfectly shaped lips - but it conveyed more warmth and friendliness that Gakupo had ever seen in a smile. Len was young - much younger then he - and yet there was a kind of wise, gentle understanding in her gorgeous eyes and loving smile that Gakupo could scarcely comprehend.

His heart fluttered in his broad chest.

Gakupo suppressed a gasp.

"So, Len...-kun, you're the _girl _Miki's been telling me so much about," Gumi began, shifting closer to Len as she spoke. They sat together on a long red lounge, while Miki's single chair was placed beside them, and Kaito and Gakupo shared another equally red lounge opposite to them. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Gumi."

"N-nice too meet you, Gumi-sama -"

"Gumi is fine," She interrupted, smiling.

Len hesitated, and seemed a little uneasy as she spoke. "Okay...Gumi."

"So, is it true you work in the castle?" Gumi pushed on eagerly.

"Yes," Len nodded in confirmation. "My twin s-...brother and I, Rin, moved in here about five or so months ago. We were starving at the time, you see, and probably would have died if Miki hadn't taken us in." She looked at Miki, and her eyes shone with a gratitude so intense that Miki blushed faintly and looked away. "We owe her our lives."

"You were _starving?_" Kaito's voice was low and snarling with outrage, and his eyes were narrowed with contempt for whoever had forced the twins into such horrific, degrading and life-threatening circumstances. "Where were your parents? Why weren't they looking after you?"

"...Rin and I are orphans." Len said softly. "Mama and Papa died many years ago. We lived with our elder sister until recently."

"Oh...I'm sorry." Kaito's anger died - like a weak, watery candle flickering into non-existence - and he sunk into his seat, shame radiating off his cheeks. "I did not mean to upset you."

Len shook her head, and her flowing blonde hair fluttered with her movements, like precious silk caught in the evening breeze. Gakupo, against his will and better judgement, found his eyes glued to those heavenly stands as they shimmered with the morning light, and quivered and shivered briefly, still vibrating from the movement. The rich sunlight leaked into Len's hair, and set patches aflame with breathtaking shades of orange and gold and, in darker places, red. Gakupo felt as though he watched her hair for a life time and some, awe-stuck by the rapid display of colours, and the light that danced not only off her hair, but off her face as well, highlighting her eyes and her cheeks and her lips...

Gakupo swallowed thickly.

"No, no, it's not your fault," Len was saying. She was smiling weakly at Kaito, who still looked ashamed by his thoughtless words. Gakupo was almost surprised; that second watching Len's hair seemed to have lasted so long, he'd expected the conversation to have advanced. "You didn't know, Lord Kaito. Actually..." Len clenched the edge of her sleeves, and tugged then anxiously. "I would like to apologize for my behaviour before...when I was, um, hitting you and stuff.."

Kaito chuckled, the humour returning to his face. "Ah, that's fine, Len. Sorry for scaring you. I was a bit - excited, I guess."

"Oh." Len's tone implied that she knew exactly what Kaito meant, but Gakupo saw, by the brief flash of uncertainly that flickered through her expression, that she really had no idea whatsoever.

He chuckled. _How cute._

"And, please, call me Kaito." He added, and Len's one visible eye widened in shock, but before she could compose herself and reply - most likely in the form of a protest - they were interrupted by the high-pitched shouting of Nekomura Iroha.

"Whoa! Hold your horses, nya! You can't just barge in -"

"Move! I gotta see Miki!"

"Don't address the Princess so informally, Rin-chan! You'll get your head lopped off!"

"Don't be stupid, Piko! Iroha, let me through!"

Gakupo frowned, and looked up, twisting in his seat while Kaito, Gumi and Miki did the same. Len, however, jerked her head up and very nearly leapt from her chair, her green eyes wide and her lips slightly parted.

Piko and Iroha were holding a slender, black-clad figure back at the door, and said figure managed to dive under Iroha's little arms, and Iroha let out a choked cry of frustration; and the boy raced for the library, but was caught fast by Piko, who proved too strong for him, for try as he might, he could not escape from Piko's iron grasp.

Len gasped.

"Rin! Miki, that's Rin! Tell Piko-chan to let her go!"

Gakupo did a double take. Did Len just address his _brother_ as 'her'?

"Oh - yes - Uta-kun!" Miki rose from her seat and called out to the white-haired servant, who was easily restraining the butler whilst Iroha fumed, stomping her feet viscously against the lush carpets and glaring daggers at the boy as he kicked and screamed and punched at Piko's arms, and his legs, and his chest. Piko glanced up at the sound of his master's voice, and made eye contact, acknowledging her summon.

"Yes, Milady?"

"Release Rin, please."

Piko did not need to be told twice. He immediately withdrew his arms, and the flailing butler crashed onto the floor with a cry, and Len screamed Rin's name and leapt from her seat and raced to her brother's side, though her damaged foot throbbed awfully with each step she took. Katio leapt after her, and Gakupo was close on his heels; with a befuddled Miki and intrigued Gumi stumbling after them.

"Rin, are you alright?" Len asked, and her voice was kind and soothing, and Rin looked up and smiled at his twin sister.

"Yeah...I think so." He murmured; and then he whipped round and glared venomously at Piko, who flinched and held up his gloved hands in a helpless gesture. "You didn't have to drop me so suddenly! Geez!"

"Sorry."

"I should think so!"

"Don't scold Piko-chan, Rin, he was doing his job," Len said wisely, stroking his brother's bright blonde hair that was several shades lighter then his own, and was strung back in a neatly done pony-tail with a ribbon as red as blood. Any strands that dared try and fall over his face were pinned back with somewhat girlish bobby pins of a pale pink colour.

Rin nodded glumly, deflating.

"Sorry, Piko-kun."

"Um..it's fine, I guess." Piko shifted uneasily from foot to foot; all the while avoiding Rin's eyes.

"What did you want, Rin?" Len asked, and she sat down and took Rin's hands between her own. Rin squeezed back, intertwining their slender fingers together.

"Miki forgot her meeting with the Council of Elders." Rin snapped at the red-eyed Princess, and Miki almost screeched with terrified horror as the memories of her scheduled discussion with the gathering of grumbling old men came rushing back into her head, and she fled from the library and into the corridor, screaming "I'LL BE BACK LATER!" over her shoulder as she flew.

"She's going to be in _so _much trouble," Rin cackled.

Len giggled. "Yeah. I can't wait to see her face after the Elders are finished with her."

"Are you Len's brother?" Kaito asked Rin, though the answer was fairly obvious by this point.

Rin nodded, grinning up at the blue-haired Prince. "Yeah. Nice to meet ya. I'm Rin. You?"

"Shion Kaito," Kaito replied with a completely straight face; and all the colour drained of Rin's cheeks as he realized he'd been speaking so informally to an acclaimed Prince from another country.

"Oh! Please, forgive -"

"It's alright," Kaito thumped Rin lightly over the shoulder, and was surprised by how delicate and fragile Rin's structure seemed to be. "I don't mind. Call me whatever you want."

He introduced them all, one by one, and paused momentarily when he saw Gumi's narrow cheeks were flushed bright pink as Rin gazed up at her, squealing a welcome with a gigantic grin plastered to his round face that glowed with happiness, and Gumi avoided her sincere eyes and whispered a returning welcome that barely managed to wriggle through her scarcely parted lips. Gakupo glanced at her curiously, confused and somewhat alarmed by her behaviour, but before he had a chance to pull her aside and question her, Rin screamed in alarm and demanded to know what happened to Len's ankle as his eyes found the bandaged ligament. Kaito ducked down to explain, and something hot and fiery burst furiously in Gakupo's chest as he saw his friend move _dangerously _close to Len's side - and even went as far as to lightly pat the girl's shoulder as he spoke.

All thoughts of Gumi were erased from his mind.

He didn't like it.

He _loathed it._

Kaito being close to Len - or, actually, being anywhere near Len at all.

It was jealousy, Gakupo realized - green as ivy and just as poisonous as it snaked about his heart and squeezed tight and tighter and tighter until he could hardly breath, and his hands were shaking with the desire to punch and to hurt, and his blood roared wild and beast-like in his ears. He wanted to rip Kaito away from Len's side and throw him out of the room with an unceremonious kick to the behind, and then he wanted to gather little Len in his strong arms and wind his arms around her thin waist and tilt back her head and smile as she blushed bright red and then press his lips against her own, so soft and sweet it was almost unbelievable -

"Nii-san?" Gumi touched his arm tentatively, and Gakupo came spiralling back down into reality with a jolt. The memories of his fleeting - yet heated - fantasy came pouring back into his mind, and a rosy blush bloomed on his long cheeks. "Is something wrong? You looked pretty mad, for a second there."

"...No," Gakupo murmured, blinking, and only half-watching as Kaito helped Len back into her chair, and Rin fussed over Len's leg, though she continued to insist she'd be alright in a day or so - perhaps even less! Kaito laughed at something Len's said, and ruffled her insanely beautiful hair, and Len blushed and smiled up at him warmly.

"I'm fine, Gumi."

But Gakupo wasn't so sure.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>__I do not own __**Vocaloid **__or __**Vana'N Ice **__and their Len-in-a-dress related works._

GAH! I'm sorry I took so long to update! ;_; This chapter refused to be written for some time, though...that's such a pathetic excuse xD

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews :D They made me happier then can be described through words alone. Please keep reviewing and tell me what you think!

And so enters Rin! I love Rin :D She's my third favourite Vocaloid, after Len and Piko. I know Rin is a girl. I also know Len is a boy X3 Just give them time~

Also, Len/Rin's eyes are green because Len's eyes were green during LOVELESSxxx. I'm actually regretting making their eyes green, though - I've always pictured them as blue.

I read through the document, but I may have missed something. I apologize for any mistakes you may have spotted.

Thanks a million for reading. If you can, please review! :3


	3. CrossDressing Farce

The sun burned bright and proud in the broad and cloudless sky, a blazing ball of monstrous heat and vicious pride, and the woman below - flanked by her guard and a carriage drawn by black horses that glimmered with gold and red lurching along behind her - gleamed with sweat as it trickled down her face and splashed against her bodice and trailed down her arms. Her short brown hair was frizzed slightly, and her large red eyes flared with determination, and her stride was long and powerful; her crimson skirts weightless and cool, and her short _katana _glinting at her belt.

"Lady Sakine," a voice called from the carriage, and a man with a nose as large as a balled fist stuck his head out of the carriage door. Beads of sweat lined his bushy brow and streamed down his narrow cheeks. "Please, return to the carriage. You'll die from heat stroke out here!"

Lady Sakine Meiko rolled her scarlet eyes.

"You wimp. Just because _you _can't handle the heat doesn't mean _I _can't." She snapped, laughing harshly, and the man deflated with shame and embarrassment. "Now, return to the oven you call a carriage before you and your ministers start dropping off like flies!"

The door clicked hollowly as the man hurriedly pulled it shut, and vanished into the carriage which was hot and stuffy, with five sweaty men cramped into the small space, and each was sweating profoundly and were flushed in the face; one man was fanning himself, while another considering joining their charge in her stroll, and another looked as though he may pass out at any moment.

Meiko lifted her chin, and gazed out across the rolling plains across which she was travelling. The desert of stone was quickly coming to an end; more and more greenery was bursting out from the seemingly dry and hollow earth, and the breeze was slowly cooling, and sending chilling shivers rippling down her sweat-drenched back. The forest was visible some way away - a long, winding like of emerald green - and beyond that, the Kingdom of Rosemaria.

Belzenia was a vast country, and was famous for it's brutal reputation in warfare. Meiko knew the tactics her people used very well, and was inclined to agree with the stereotype. They were a ruthless people who knew iron inside and out, and cut down the foes who dared stray onto their path with a merciless swing of a sword and a sadistic grin lighting their features. There was nothing subtle or cunning about their strategies either - they were straightforward and inhumanly malicious, leaving complicated and thoughtful plans to rot in the shadows.

The exact opposite of Rosemaria, the kingdom Belzenia had fought with for many decades now. The fighting was finally coming to an end, though, with the union of herself and His Highness Shion Kaito of Marlon taking place there.

An image of the blue-haired, blue-eyed Prince flashed through Meiko's mind, and a shudder of repulsion shot up her spine.

Oh, how she _loathed _this accursed arrangement! She had always planned to marry based on how she felt about the person; about how strongly she loved and longed to be _with_ the person. But her father...! _How dare he do this to her!_ Just because he was too old and too wearisome to continue fighting, he first dumps all his responsibilities as Warlord onto the shoulders his only child whom he raised as though she were a boy, leaving her to run all of Belzenia for almost two years before abruptly deciding that she would marry a man she had never even met -!

Meiko stopped, and took a deep, calming breath. Getting mad now would do nothing but waste her much needed energy. She had already fought vigorously with her father, and her furious protests had led her no-where. She was going to marry Shion Kaito whether she liked it or not.

_"His Highness is said to love ice cream,_" She recalled her father saying as Meiko prepared to leave for the one-week trip to Rosemaria - to meet and hopefully fall head over heels for the Prince of Blue. _"He loves the sea and does not like fighting. He is also said to be rather talkative. You'd like that, wouldn't you, Meiko? Spending hours talking to His Highness about ice cream and such things?"_

Meiko sighed heavily.

_Oh, Gracious_ _Lord God, please have mercy on my soul. I may just murder Prince Kaito._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter <strong>T**hree**_

_**:: **Cross-Dressing Farce** ::**_

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Len-kun."<p>

"Good morning, Piko-chan." Len smiled as she slid carefully from her perch on the bed she currently shared with Rin, and started slowly across the room, wobbling slightly as she moved cautiously from foot to foot, and the ankle which she had twisted throbbed faintly, distantly, whenever she put too much pressure on the weakened bones. She stood still for a moment, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, while Piko watched from the door, and in his hands he held a silver tray upon which Len's breakfast sat.

"How's your ankle?" He inquired.

"Perfect." Len replied, smiling warmly. She threaded her fingers through her hair, which was presently free of it's binds, and flowed freely about her slender shoulders. "Thank you so much for helping me out, Piko-chan. Rin's too busy, what with all the duties Miki's given her."

"Him," Piko replied, smiling a little. "_Him_, Len-kun. You're still pretending to be a girl and Rin-chan boy, remember?"

"Oh," Len said, blinking in realization. "Right. _Him_. Sometimes I forget myself." He giggled a little, and then strolled over to where Piko awaited him, and thanked him for the breakfast.

Momentarily, his thoughts wondered back to the fact he and his twin _sister _were pretending to be a part of the opposite gender. Rin had screamed in despair when she'd heard the news, and begged Len to do something about - but what could he have done? Appeal to Miki? Beg Queen Sonika? No. This - no matter how degrading or shameful or embarrassing - was the condition they had (angrily) agreed to. Without it -...he sighed heavily, and again ran his fingers through his silky hair.

He never actually said it, but Len knew Piko made all the food himself, and went to great pains to make sure it was all cooked to perfection. Piko simply nodded wordlessly, and sat the tray down at a little table located knew the bed, and pulled out a chair for Len. He glanced at him, surprised; but then his smile returned, and he gently touched his arm.

"Thanks, Piko-chan." He said kindly, and Piko blushed bright pink, and looked away. Len giggled. "You're really good to me, you know that? You spoil me as though I really were a girl."

"Y-yeah." Piko mumbled, and he suddenly seemed incredibly interested with the state of his sleeve, fiddling and examining and prodding the glossy material as he was. Len's smile widened slightly, and another warm ray of kind affectionate glowed within his eyes; and then he leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss Piko's pale cheek.

Piko's entire face flushed crimson, and his eyes popped wide, and his entire body went stiff with shock. Len laughed, loudly and merrily, and patted Piko's shoulder.

"You're so cute when you blush, Piko-chan!" He teased.

"Sh-shut up!" Piko squeaked. He wriggled away and headed for the door, but Len caught his arm once again and held on tightly.

"Stay and eat with me, Piko-chan." He pleaded, tugging him gently towards the table. "Please? It's so lonely without Rin. I don't know what to do with myself."

"You know how to eat!" Piko protested. "Eat by yourself."

Len's smile faded, and was replaced by a look of devastated disbelief; his eyes widened to the size of saucers, and his lips quivered with despair, and he took a few shaky steps away from him, as though Piko had delivered a stinging blow to his cheek rather then a crude response.

"Y-...you're going to leave me alone?" He whispered, his voice barely audible; trembling and broken, like a pained whimper tumbling from the chalk-white lips of a dying man. Piko's heart clenched in his chest; and then his breath hitched in his throat as tears swelled in Len's eyes.

"Ah! L-Len-kun, don't cry -" He begged.

"It's fine," Len said shortly, softly - cutting him off mid-sentence - and he turned on heel and stumbled towards the table, hands held by his chest and his eyes hidden from Piko's view. "G-go if you want. I'll just...stay here.."

"L-Len-kun..." Piko groaned. He knew what Len was doing! B-but...

Len was silent; and then he turned slightly, so Piko could _just _see the emerald shimmer of his eyes. They were still flooded with tears, and those tears threatened to spill down his flushed face at any moment. Piko groaned again.

"...Okay, okay!" Piko grumbled, stalking to the table and collapsing in a second chair with such force that the floorboards whined beneath him. "I'll eat with you."

Len's tears evaporated instantaneously, and he grinned broadly, his entire face glowing with happiness, and he bent down and pressed yet another soft, sweet and loving kiss on Piko's cheek; and Piko reacted the same way, blushing like a mad man and freezing head-to-toe, eyes big as moons.

"Thanks, Piko-chan!" Len chuckled.

"I-i-i-it's f-f-f-f-fine..." Piko stammered.

Piko was a surprisingly good cook, despite his guarded, somewhat anti-social personality, and Len's eyes slid elegantly closed as he slowly chewed the blissful combination of spices and herbs, rolling and swishing the mouth-watering mess over his tongue. Piko nibbled at his food, and his head was down the whole time, and his white hair fell haphazardly over his eyes, and sometimes Len's eyes flickered to his face, and saw the nervousness straining his pale features. This was still bad, but it was improvement, Len told himself. He remembered a time when Piko could scarcely look at someone without flinching away, fully expecting a harsh kick to the stomach or ruthless swing to the head, and Len shivered.

_Thump_. Somebody was knocking at the door. Len looked up briefly, but did not move, because Piko was already half way there.

"Yes?" Piko said as he edged it open, peering through the gape and into the hall.

"Hey, Piko, nya." Iroha grinned toothily at her fellow servant. She glanced past him and waved cheerfully to Len, who smiled in answer. "Len-kyun."

"Hi. Would you like to eat with us, Iroha-chan?" Len offered, returning the wave.

"Love to, but I can't, nya. Piko and I have been summoned by the Head of Servants, nya." Iroha reported. She turned and addressed Piko. "Come on, Snowy, nya. We've gotta go, nya. Something about Queen Fujiwara, nya."

Behind them, Len stiffened. Queen Fujiwara Starlight Sonika did not approve of himself or his twin; the woman was kind on the outside, and more then willing to assist those in need, but her crippling illness had made her bitter, crueller, and her attitude towards Rin and Len had been sour since day one. Two foul-mannered peasant twins drenched in filth and reeking of house dung was how she viewed the twins; on most days, anyway. Some days she saw them as weak and innocent children wrongfully cast out by their elder sister, and left to fend for themselves in a merciless world of bandits and warlords; on those days she was kind and sympathetic and spoke to them in soft words and motherly smiles.

But those days were few in number and far in between. Queen Sonika's mind was weakening day by day; and Len feared it was only a matter of time before the spiralling Queen decided they were no longer worth protecting - Rin and Len - and cast them out, despite any protests Miki may sprout.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Len-kun," Piko turned and nodded apologetically to Len, who shrugged and nodded in response.

"It's fine. Now, go on - don't keep the Queen waiting."

"Goodbye." Piko said softly, and then he disappeared out the door with Iroha fast on his heels.

Alone in his room, Len smiled sadly. "It's 'see you later', Piko-chan."

/

Len hated the damn dress. So many bloody layers - and so heavy! Like wearing sheets of condensed metal, all fancied up with frills and velvet and other wealth-related products. And then there were the shoes - those _damn shoes!_ - that looked more like weapons of mass destruction then objects into which your feet should be placed, what with the heels the size of a small knife and just as sharp and just as able to gorge someone's eye out...!

But Len put them on anyway, though reluctant; wriggling into the dark blue dress that swayed and rippled about his ankles, but fell heavy and thick at his thin waist and hugged his small, underdeveloped frame. He did his hair in the way Miki liked it, styled so that one of his eyes was hidden masterfully behind a thick golden lock and the rest was strung back in a delicately curling pony-tail. And then came the freaking cat ears and the stupid cat tail - black in colour, and embarrassing as all heck to wear. Len glared at them for several seconds before shoving them into place.

Len observed himself in the mirror. And frowned, like he did every morning. _I really do look like a girl. _An image of Rin flashed through his mind, clad in her black butler uniform and walking unsteadily around the room; awkward in pants, clothing she had never worn or even considered wearing before. A small smile twitched at his lips. Rin didn't look much like a boy, small and delicate as she was, but no woman ever wore pants; what were the other servants supposed to think?

Len strolled out of his room and into the lavishly decorated hall way. Crimson carpets sprawled across the floor; and roses wound their way up the walls and clung to the glittering golden frames of the windows; and portraits of serious men and elegant women lined the walls, possessing an air of power and regal even in their ink-and-paint format. Whenever Len passed a servant, they hurried into a bow or a curtsey, and Len smiled warmly in return.

He suppressed a wince whenever one of the male servants blushed at his smile. Len was bisexual (as was Rin), so the attention he received from the male servants wasn't particularly upsetting or at all unwanted, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the boys. They saw him as a girl - meaning they were probably all heterosexual. Their opinion of him would _very_ fast change if they discovered he was a boy.

Which they would not, Len told himself firmly. _No-one will discover our secret. Not ever._

Len started towards the library. If his memory served him correctly, Prince Shion, Prince Kamui, Gumi and Miki would be awaiting his arrival there. The princes had apparently taking a liking to Len and his soft spoken words and bright smiles and twinkling eyes.

Len recalled how Prince Shion had easily swung him high into the air and held him fast against his broad chest, his fingers securely gripping his waist and preventing him from slipping; he remembered the warmth that had radiated off his body, and seeped into Len's, terrifying and yet exciting him at the same time. And Prince Kamui - tall and handsome and charming. Len remembered his sweet and pleasant smile, and how adorably confused he'd looked when Kaito had slid into the garden's eating area, and how his entire face had glowed with kindness and his eyes had shone like stars as they searched Len's face, travelling across the curling strands of his golden hair...

Len's cheeks flushed scarlet.

_Wh-what am I thinking!_ Len shook his head vigorously, chasing all thoughts of the handsome princes from his mind. _Gah! A-am I blushing? What the heck! P-Prince Kaito is dumb! And Prince Kamui is waaaaaay too tall! He's, like, a giant!_

But Len's cheeks remained burning.

Shaking himself, he started walking again - he'd stopped without realizing it while thinking of the princes - and hurried around a sharp corner -

- and balled right into Rin.

"Ah! Rin!" Len's hands shot through the air and caught his sister's wrist fast and hard as she stumbled backwards, falling with a startled cry, and he gave her a strong pull - heaving her back onto her feet. Rin gasped with relief, and squeezed Len's hand.

"Thanks, Len." She squeaked. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

"It's fine," Len brushed off her apologizes with a soft smile. "How's your day been so far? I haven't seen you since last night."

Rin shrugged. "It could be worse, I guess. Miss Teto is a slave driver, though." She added bitterly. Miss Kasane Teto was the Head Maid of Miki's castle, and she ruled her army of glossily dressed girls with an iron fist and eyes as cold as ice. She wasn't aware of Rin and Len's condition, but Miki had requested she take charge of Rin rather then the Head Butler - Kasane Ted, who was actually Teto's younger brother - who was even harsher and colder then Teto herself. (Above them was the Head of Servants, Akita Neru, whom Piko and Iroha were currently reporting to. She was considerably less violent then the Kasane siblings. Len liked her much better.)

"She's always picking on me because I'm a _boy._" Rin giggled at she said that. "Can you believe them? That they actually think _I'm _a _boy?_I mean, look at me!" Rin gestured with her free hand to her dainty waist and her thin wrists and her small, fragile frame. "Do I look like a boy?"

"No. You just sound like one." Len teased, and Rin blushed furiously, and lunged at him with a yowl. Len laughed aloud and easily battered his sister's weak strikes away.

"Ngh - you jerk!"

"You're adorable when you're mad, Rin!"

"GAH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"No, I'll kill you!"

Rin and Len froze. That voice had belonged to neither of them.

They looked around, and saw the enraged form of Kasane Teto smouldering a few feet away; and Rin blanched with fright. Teto's footsteps seemed to shake the very castle as she stormed over to where Rin stood trembling, clutching desperately at Len's hand.

"You little weasel! You think just because you're a _boy _you can go play around?" Teto sneered viciously. She obviously wasn't in a very good mood. "We women work till our fingers fall off for you men! Come on! You've got some scrubbing to do!"

Teto snatched Rin's shoulder and wrenched her away from Len, who could do nothing but stare helplessly as his sister was dragged off - white as a sheet - but the fiery, pink haired Head Maid. Her curls bouncing wildly by her ears, and her feet smashing against the carpet with each step she took. Rin stumbled along behind, glancing over her shoulder at Len. Len waved weakly as Teto and Rin vanished around a corner.

Len swallowed thickly. _I hope Rin will be okay...Teto-san sure is scary, though..._

"Kagamine-san!" Len jerked his head up and saw a butler with a rose at his throat rushing towards him. The butler bowed respectfully, and Len curtseyed back. After doing it for five months, he'd pretty much mastered the technique - lift the skirts slightly, lower your gaze and nod towards the floor, appearing submissive and accepting to the man.

Len hated it.

"Yes? May I help you?"

"I have some news for Princess Fujiwara."

/

Kaito took another deep sip of his tea, and sighed, smiling to himself. The tea was delicious as always, and tickled his throat as the warm liquid flowed into his stomach. He sat the elaborately decorated cup down on the table, and glanced at Gakupo, who was sniffing his tea as though he feared it to be poisoned.

"Yo, Eggplant Man, what's up?" Kaito whispered, glancing at Miki and Gumi, who were both deep in conversation. As always. Did they ever so stop talking? "I thought you loved tea. You drink it all the time back in Asmodin, right?" Asmodin was Gakupo's country.

"Yes. I love _green tea_." Gakupo replied, still eyeing his tea wearily. Kaito shuddered. Green tea was bitter enough to kill! How could Gakupo drink that disgusting stuff? "_Not _tea that tastes like petrified roses."

"It does not taste like that! Stop being such a child." Kaito scolded. Then he lowered his voice in a mock impersonation of Gakupo, and narrowed his eyes. "You're going to have to meet Lady Rose Tea whether you like it or not, and kicking and screaming like a little baby won't improve matters."

"Shut up, Ice-cream lover." Gakupo snapped.

Kaito laughed.

"Kaito! Gakupo!" Miki's cheery voice interrupted their conversation (could you call that a conversation?) and the princes looked up simultaneously. Miki and Gumi were both facing them now, and both were grinning broadly and looking as though they were about to burst with excitement.

"Yes, Miki?" Kaito inquired. Since arriving, Miki had convinced them to address her by her first name, and, in return, they had allowed her to call them by theirs'.

"Remember what I said yesterday? About everybody having their own personal servants?"

"Yes." Gakupo nodded in confirmation.

Miki clapped her hands together gleefully. "Well, I was thinking, we should hurry and choose! You've only seen the garden and the library," she continued, gesturing around at the towering book shelves that lined the baby blue walls. "but there is so much more to see in the castle! So much more fun to be had! Kaito, I've been told you enjoy archery."

"You heard correctly. I do enjoy it."

"He's a master." Gakupo praised, and Kaito blushed with embarrassment.

"N-no, I'm not -" He protested, but Gumi cut him off.

"He's just being modest. Kaito-kun is amazing with arrows." The green-haired princess stated, and Kaito suddenly wished he could sink into his seat.

"Wonderful!" Miki sang. "There's an archery range, just beyond the garden! I'm sure you'd love to see it. And Gakupo, you are a warrior! There are sparring grounds right beside the archery range."

Gakupo grinned, imagining himself clasping a glinting _katana _between his rough fingers and hacking through unsuspecting stacks of hay that thumped against the earth with a hollow, whispering sigh. Striking hay was no where near as satisfying as ripping a grown man in two, and watching his scarlet blood splatter against the emerald grass, but it was an entertaining activity.

"Who would you like, Gumi-tan?" Miki inquired merrily, swirling around and facing her friend head-on.

"I'd like..." Gumi blushed a pale shade of pink. "I'd like Rin, if that's okay."

"Of course! I'll arrange it immediately." Miki patted Gumi's arm, and some sort of knowing spark shot through her gaze, and Gumi nodded, smiling shyly, as she temporarily withdrew into her mind; her blush darkened somewhat as she imagined a beautiful, round face that made her heart flutter. She recovered quickly, and rapidly returned to reality, and then turned to the boys, both of whom were utterly befuddled by what had just taken place.

"You guys could probably share a servant," Gumi said, as she flattened down her sparkling pale green dress, with roses of bright red threaded in through the glimmering silk. "You'll always be together, anyway."

Kaito frowned thoughtfully, and tapped his chin, and leafed through the servants he had met up to this point. There was Piko, so quite and cold and isolated, trudging along with his head down and his eyes firmly focused on the task at hand; an excellent worker, but bad company for conversation, and his presence would leave Kaito feeling awkward and self-conscious. Then there was Iroha, with her bubbly personality and forever-there grin and endless string of 'nya~!'; she was a lovely girl who would be fun for the first hour or so, but eventually her constant flow of wild energy would wear thin on the prince, and he would stumble along after her as she bounded tirelessly over the field.

And then there was -

Kaito's heart swelled in his chest.

And then there was Len.

So beautiful, with her flawless skin and her golden hair and perfectly round eyes, shinning like suns and swimming with unquestionable kindness. Her brilliant smile that could light up the night sky in the dead of winter; her gentle, soft touch that felt Kaito's skin quivering with anticipation; and her graceful and elegant gate, her movements delicate and yet swift, purposeful. She did nothing without a reason, and a good, solid reason at that. She was practical and intelligent, and sweet as sugar and kind as a mother was to her child.

She worked for the castle as a servant, most likely assisting Miki with her daily duties.

She was a servant.

And there for - !

"I want Len."

Kaito spoke.

But so did Gakupo.

They spoke at the same time, with the same words, and their voices mixed together in the air; startling them both. They looked at each other sharply, and Kaito spied the confused mass of frantic emotions churning beneath Gakupo's purple gaze and wondered, privately, if Gakupo had been thinking the same thoughts as himself.

"Oh.." Miki mumbled, looking from one man to the other, while Gumi frowned worriedly, her green brows knitting together. "You both want Len-chi? Well, I supposed that can be arranged. I believe she's quite fond of both of you. You were quite kind to her yesterday."

"She is?" Gakupo's eyes instantly flashed to Miki's face.

The princess nodded encouragingly. "Yes! I'm sure she'd be happy to assist you both around the castle - Oh! And speaking of the devil! Len-chi!"

Kaito looked up, and saw Len gliding towards them, graceful and elegant as always. She met his gaze and smiled warmly, kindly, and Kaito's heart thumped erratically in his chest.

"Good morning, Lord Kaito, Lord Gakupo." Len murmured, and she curtseyed low and submissively.

"Good morning, Len." Gakupo replied, smiling.

"I told you to call me Kaito." Kaito whined.

Len straightened, and saw Kaito's pouting face, and giggled despite herself. The sound was lulling and beautiful and magical, and Kaito sighed in content.

"Very well. Good morning, _Kaito._"

Beside him, Kaito noticed Gakupo's bulging arm muscles tense between his heavy purple jacket.

Kaito chose to ignore it; and the small twinge of smugness he felt deep within his chest.

"Len-chi~! I have some wonderful news for you!" Miki squealed in delight, clapping her hands again and bouncing from her seat.

"I have some news for you as well, Miki." Len informed the giggling and gushing Princess with a small smile.

"Oh? What's going on?"

"Lady Sakine Meiko has sent word. She'll be here in less then two hours."

Kaito's blood went cold.

Crap.

He'd forgotten all about Meiko!

A-and now...!

Abruptly, Len turned towards Kaito, and she grinned, a broad and impish grin that showed off all her amazingly white and pure teeth.

"She says she can't wait to meet her fiancée."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>__I do not own __**Vocaloid **__or __**Vana'N Ice**__ and their Len-in-a-dress related works or__mothy's __**Seven Deadly Sins **__countries._

SUPER QUICK UPDATE!YOSH! XD

Here comes Meiko~! And now we definitely know Len and Rin were cross-dressing. Why will be revealed at a later date. I apologize if the part where we discover that fact sounds...I don't know, _stupid_, I guess. I was finding it difficult to continuously call Len 'she'. I always wanted to write 'he'. The same goes for Rin, only opposite. It was driving me crazy!

Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews! They make me so happy! x3

I love Piko *-* I planned a background for him in this. It's rather important. So is the fact Meiko and Kaito will marry in Rosemaria.

I've decided to use the names of countries from the _Seven Deadly Sins _series by mothy/Akuno-P. So, Kaito's from Marlon, Gakupo's from Asmodin, and Rin and Len are from Lucifenia. :D

I apologize for any errors you may have found. I read through, but I may have missed some.

Thanks so much for reading! If you can, please review!

PS. At the last pit, when I started referring to Len as 'she' again, it's because Kaito (and Gakupo, for that matter) still thinks Len is a girl. The P.O.V (point of view) shifted from Len to Kaito. Sorry if I confused anybody!


	4. The Delay Part One

_Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack._ The rhythmical _clacking _of the horses' heavy hooves clapping against the thin layer of pale green grass boomed in Meiko's ears, and bounced awfully around her skull, and the hollow sound seemed to fill the air, drowning out the creaking of the wheels and her laboured breath and the shriek of birds above them and the whisper of the wind.

The wind was cool, and tickled her sweaty cheeks, and sent chills rippling down her spine. She sucked in a huge lung-full of the tasty air, so that her chest swelled and her mouth stretched wide; and then she exhaled, and her entire body seemed to deflate.

"Lady Sakine," A low voice murmured from behind her, and Meiko turned to see a solider clad in the crimson uniform of Belzenia. He bowed respectfully as she granted him her attention. "Perhaps it time that we rested. We have finally reached some trees with shade."

"Yes, let's." Meiko sighed in relief, and wiped some sweat off her forehead; it glittered glassily on her hand, the little, circular beads of foggy liquid, and then they trickled across her skin and splattered soundlessly against the earth below.

The desert of stone was far behind the party now, but the greenery was still weak, and paled in comparison to what they would soon find themselves knee-deep in. The grass was stringy and thin and trembled in the breeze rather then swayed, and the trees, though tall, were skinny and blotchy and the leaves were pale and narrow.

The carriage sat beneath a cluster of these half-dead trees, bathed in shadows, and the minsters were all outside and sweating profoundly. Three had taken their jackets off and were shamelessly fanning themselves with the pathetic leaves the trees offered, while the remaining two attempted to conserve their dignity and looked as proud and regal and as in control as they possible could with beads of sweat the size of marbles rolling down their angrily flushed cheeks.

Meiko smirked at their discomfort. She had always disliked her father's ministers - they were all grumpy men with little love for the world. Cowards who hid behind their ability to change the law or persuade others to do so, rather then fight their own battles, with sword or fist or spear. Ministers appeared to be identical in every country, whether it be the rosy and tranquil setting of Rosemaria or the war-bloodied bombing ground of Belzenia - cowardly old geezers who smelled like rotten cabbage.

A solider came up to Meiko and offered her a drink. She smiled at him thankfully and took a swig of the canteen, relishing in the tingling sensation that the cool liquid left buzzing in her mouth.

She peered into the canteen, frowning.

"We haven't much water left," She informed the solider.

"Not to worry, Milady. There is a river near by - about a ten minute walk, three minute ride on horse back." The solider reported cheerfully, and Meiko spied a small smile brightening his features. "Water shan't be an issue any time soon."

"Excellent." Meiko clapped him over the back, grinning from ear to ear, and the solider returned her grin with equal excitement. She then moved further into the shade, leaving the solider to attend to his duties, and leaned against one of the trees; it was bent like a sickle, with the head bending over backwards, leaning heavily towards the earth.

_Thump_. One of the horses flicked it's nose, and thumped it's hoof against the grass. It stumbled around uneasily, and, after a moment, it's fellow horses joined in; pawing anxiously at the earth and their big black eyes rolling around and their lips twitching as though the horses were attempting to communicate an important message.

Meiko frowned.

"Is there something wrong of the horses?" She asked of no-one in particular; she simply expected someone to respond. She was the Belzenian equivalent to a princess, after all.

"I'm not sure, Milady," a man's voice replied, and then two strode over to the horses and stroked their manes and murmured nonsense words of comfort, soothing away the horses' worries. After a moment, they seemed to calm down, but the nervous fear still flared in their eyes -

And then a man died.

The arrow shot through the air without a moments warning and ripped straight through his throat; and he reeled backwards, hands at his gaping wound, and blood gushed everywhere, staining the ground crimson with the liquid. His body - dead, his consciousness whisked away and never to be seen again - collapsed limply, and laid twitching spasmodically in a pool of his own blood.

There was no two-second pause, like there was in movies. No gasps of horror or women fainting or screams of terror or bewildered stares.

The soldiers took less then a mili-second to process what had happened before everybody started moving, all rushing around in a blur of colour; within seconds, swords were drawn and the ministers were rounded up and shoved back into the carriage and Meiko was suddenly flanked by two men while she held her own sword at the ready and they sprung behind the trees for cover. Then another volley of arrows rained down with sharp whistles, bright orange with the flames that clawed up the shafts, and embedded themselves into the carriage -

- and exploded instantaneously.

The wave of heat smashed bodily against Meiko and she almost stumbled with shock. The grass was dry and the flames licked hungrily at the kindling. They spread quickly and viciously and the heat sizzled in the air.

The minsters screamed from within the carriage, and the door flew open, and two scampered out, but before the others could follow, another several fiery arrows hurtled down from the sky, and the glittering golden and red carriage erupted into a shower of orange flames.

There was a howl - _a battle cry!_ - and then bodies dispatched themselves from the rock and grass and trees all around them. Their camouflage fell off and clattered uselessly against the ground. One man lunged at a soldier, who swung his blade fast and true and ripped the attacker in half. Another solider was attacked by a dozen at once, all of them huge and screaming and flailing their weapons around, and had no hope of saving himself.

Meiko lashed out at a man who strayed too close, and his face burst open in a fountain of scarlet, his nose breaking with a sickening _crack _and his skin splitting open with a wet _rip_. He howled with pain, and Meiko, using this to her advantage, swooped in and ran him through with her sword. He gagged, blood dribbling down his chin; and then Meiko kicked him off the blade, stained red with his blood, and rushed to help one of the ministers, who was on the ground, screeching with fright, as an invader leapt at him with a spear.

_Shit!_ Meiko thought, swinging her sword in a broad arch. _What on earth is going on? Who are these men? What do they want? Why -_

"Lady Meiko!"

Meiko looked up, and her crimson eyes widened as she caught sight of the arrows hurtling towards her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter <strong>F**our**_

_**::** The Delay - Part One **::**_

* * *

><p><em>Crud. Crud. Crud. Crud. Crud.<em>

"Kaito, your hands are trembling. Are you alright?" Len asked worriedly from behind the blue-haired prince as he tried and failed to hold the slender bow between his hands. The wood was a deep shade of brown and glowed dully with polish, and was light as a feather, yet as hard as a rock. Kaito would have marvelled at the masterfully created object, had his mind not been reeling from terror.

"I-I'm fine," Kaito lied. His voice was high-pitched and squeaked shrilly. Len titled her head to one side, frowning doubtfully.

"...Really?" She blinked innocently, her green eyes sparkling.

"Yeah." Kaito insisted, and he smiled what he desperately hoped was a calm, reassuring smile. Len did not seem to buy it, though, and continued to frown darkly, watching him intently as he finally managed to get a firm grip on the bow, and carefully plucked a long, thin arrow with rose-red feathers from the quiver.

The archer range was vast. Rolling green hills of shortly cut grass that trembled in the breeze, too small to sway and whisper as other grasses did, and circular targets were sprinkled all over the range. Some were large and easily hit; others were tiny and barely visible. Kaito was, despite his previous protests, an excellent archer, and could have fit the majority of those tiny, near invisible targets with minimal difficulty, but at the moment, with his hands sweating gallons and his mind reeling with fright and his arms shaking uncontrollably, he could scarcely hit the biggest.

A little way away, Gakupo could be heard hacking through stacks of hay with his silvery sword. His movements were fast and swift and ruthless, his sword hissing as it flew through the air and mercilessly ripped the poor stacks of dried yellow grass apart. The sparring grounds were no where near as large as Kaito's archery range, but it was a spacious area in the shape of a circle, and is was cleared of grass and twigs and stones and dips, creating a perfectly flat patch of land for warriors like Gakupo to lung at one another until either opponent could move no longer.

Len had been informed of the princes' decision to share her as a personal servant shortly after delivering the news of Meiko's rapidly approaching arrival. She'd been extremely surprised, and rather flattered, but Kaito sensed some frustration flickering on the edge of her tone. Kaito guessed it was only her loyalty to the bubbly Miki that kept her from complaining about the arrangement.

Following Miki's instructions, she had led them down to the archery range, directed Gakupo to the sparring range and displayed the weapons available, and then showed Kaito around. At the base of the range was a wooden, rectangular 'house', of sorts, where all the quivers and bows and arrows were kept; it only had three walls, though, and instead of a fourth wall there was a little beam you could lean on and stare out at the grassy range. That's where they were now, with Len sitting on a chair, and Kaito standing by the beam.

Kaito lifted the bow, and drew back the string. He could feel the entire thing quivering as his hands trembled, and he knew immediately that he would hit nothing. How could he hope to hit anything, with his hands shaking like this?

He sighed. Why was he so frightened of Lady Sakine, anyway? The marriage was invertible. He should just sit down and accept his cruel and loveless fate. But a part of Kaito was petrified, and screamed in the back of mind; quaking with the urge to _run -_ to _run _and never look back and keep running until Lady Sakine was a microscopic red dot on the horizon.

_It's because of Len_, a little voice in the back of his mind whispered mockingly. _You're scared because of your feelings for Len._ Feelings? Kaito bit his lip, and narrowed his eyes. That couldn't possibly be true! So what if Len was lovely and cute and kind and perfect. He didn't _like _her. _Keep telling yourself that, buddy. But you're still afraid. Afraid because you'll have to give up Len when Meiko arrives and crushes your dreams of taking her to your chamber and fu-_

"Kaito," Len's voice sounded from right beside him, and Kaito squeaked with surprise. Looking down, he saw the blonde girl had walked right up to him, silent as a whisper.

"Sup, Len?" Kaito tried to sound cheerful, but his voice shook just as badly as his hands.

Len's eyes softened with sympathy, and she reached out and gently took hold of Kaito's shaking hands; clasped between her inhumanly soft fingers, the shivering lessened, and then receded all together. Kaito's eyes widened in surprise.

Len blushed bright pink. "C-calm down, okay? Miki knows Lady Sakine. They're not best friends, but they _are_friends, in some sense. She says Lady Sakine is a strong, proud and ruthless woman - but she is also kind and understanding." Len smiled faintly. "Just relax, okay? She's not as violent or as scary as you think."

"L-Len..." Kaito was speechless. He stared, awe-struck, at the golden haired servant, and she stared up at him, her emerald eyes shimmering like stars and her cheeks flushed a rosy pink and her pale, perfect lips curved upwards in a shy little smile that made Kaito's heart flutter in his chest. She was so pretty, so _cute_, so loving and understanding, and so, _so _wonderful...She was everything Kaito wanted in a wife...

_You're scared because of Len..._

Kaito's hands moved before he could stop them. They placed the bow down, and cupped Len's smooth cheeks in a gentle but firm grip.

_You're scared because of your feelings for Len.._

Len's eyes widened in shock, and she blushed, and she opened her mouth to speak - to question his actions - but before she could, Kaito was kissing her.

Len's lips were unbelievably soft, and tasted of vanilla and bananas and sunlight, which was of course strange because sunlight did not have a taste, lacking a real physical form, but Kaito was one hundred percent positive that the unique and tantalising flavour he could taste spread thickly over her lips was sunlight; warm and brilliant and golden sunlight. Len's lips were frozen with shock for several moments; and then, slowly, timidly, they melted into the kiss, and Kaito pressed harder, fiercer; a sudden bout of lust exploding and burning in his belly. His hands snaked around Len's thin waist and pulled her close, pressing her tiny frame against his chest, and his hands caressed the skin concealed beneath her dress, along her shoulders, in the small of her back, all around her waist. His tongue slipped into Len's mouth, deepening the kiss still, and he explored shamelessly, enthusiastically, tasting everything and committing the wondrous flavours to memory. Len gasped into his mouth ("_Mmmph! M-mmmph!_"), eyes squeezed shut and her cheeks burning crimson -

"_Mmmph - _S-stop!" Suddenly, Len wrenched away from Kaito and shoved furiously at his shoulders, exerting such force that Kaito stumbled backwards a few steps. His mind was foggy, and that fiery lust still flared and smouldered in his chest, but it was weaker, now, smaller, smothered by Len's abrupt rejection.

Len. Kaito looked at her, and his heart sank.

Len was livid. Her wide eyes blazed with wild, frantic fury and her cheeks were scarlet with embarrassment and her hands were balls into fists by her sides. She glared at him, her entire body quivering, her expression twisted and flushed and her eyes streaked with tears.

"Y-you - you - " Len's voice _was_ fire. It lashed at Kaito, and he cringed away. "Y-you - you - _you - ! _"

"I'm sorry," Kaito whispered. "I-I acted without thinking. Forgive me, Len."

Len's blushed darkened by several shades.

"I'll choose another servant, okay?" Kaito continued, thinking quickly. "You don't have to stay around me. Okay? I'll leave you alone."

Len took a deep, calming breath, that caused her chest to swell and deflate like an air balloon. She momentarily closed her eyes, and, for a fleeting few seconds, she looked calm, in control, regal. But then her eyes opened again, and Kaito saw the enraged fury there - and something else, something confused and guilty, bubbling and flickering in the depths of her eyes.

"I will continue being your servant," She hissed. "But only because Miki wants it like this. If she asks me to do _anything _else - even look after Queen Sonika - then I will be gone within seconds. K-k-kiss me again - " Len's gaze dropped to the floor. " - a-and I'll - u-um..."

"Leave and tell Miki?" Kaito supplied, smiling weakly. Len looked adorable, even if she did want to strangle him.

"Yeah!" Len snapped. "I'll l-leave and t-tell Miki."

Kaito wasn't sure what else to say, so he stood there, feeling awkward, and smiled pleasantly. Len glared at him for several more seconds, her little fists still shaking and her eyes burning and her cheeks blushing; and then, abruptly, she swung around and marched away.

"I-I'm going to check on Lord Gakupo." She grumbled; and then she vanished form Kaito's view.

The moment she disappeared, Kaito smashed his head against the wall.

"BAKA!"

/

Len stormed across the thin grass, tugging furiously at his hair. _Baka! Baka! Baka baka baka! _He shook his head vigorously, and, unwelcome, the memory of Kaito's lips pressed lovingly against his own flashed through his mind, and Len's face went up in flames. He clawed ruthlessly at the recollection, hissing and spitting and kicking and punching until it was nothing more then a flickering, faded image in the back of his mind - and there it hung, dancing on the very edge of his consciousness, threatening to spill back and engulf him at any moment.

_Kiss me again_. Len couldn't believe he'd actually said that; that those _suggestive_ words had actually wriggled free of his lips and sprung joyfully into the air. Playing them back in his mind, it sounded as though he was asking_ - begging_ - Kaito to gather him in his strong, strong arms, and run his fingers through his golden hair, and once again plant his lips, hot with lust, against Len's. _Please, Kaito, please! Kiss me again!_

Len whimpered, like a wounded puppy. His chest felt constricted, and his wind pipe was suddenly thin as paper and his breath was barely struggling through. He could still taste Kaito's sugary, ice-cream flavour on his lips, the faint hints of chocolate and tangs of strawberry and sliver of plain yet mouth-watering vanilla...

"God, why'd he do that?" Len breathed; screwing his eyes shut and burying his hands into his hair and stalking along without really seeing where he was going. "We met _yesterday!_ Is it because he's getting married? Is he going crazy?" Len hugged his shoulders tightly, and vaguely noticed the ground rising. Kaito also thought he was a girl, just like those male servants who blushed and smiled shyly when he strode past, smiling and curtseying and looking all _girly_. How would the prince react if he discovered Len was a male? That he had _kissed_ a member of his own gender? Violated the Holy Law? He'd be disgusted, Len was certain. He would pale with horror and scream in disbelief, and then he would round on Len, his blue eyes blazing with betrayal as fierce and furious as the fiery pits of Hell, and he would accuse, and accuse, and accuse -

Suddenly ground lurched away from his feet, and Len was falling, falling fast and falling without control, and Len's mouth opened wide in a silent screech of terror as the sky and the trees pulled up, up, up and away from him, and the ground surged closer and closer and closer like the gaping jaw of a blood-thirsty shark.

A cliff leered over him, tall and solid and imposing, and Len knew, just by the height, that when he hit the ground, he would die.

_Rin. I'm sorry._

Len's throat ripped open, and he screamed.

/

Miki was worried. Even a deaf, thousand-year old man with decaying eye sight could have told as much by the way she paced endlessly through the parlour, the silky folds of her new fire-red dress whispering as they were brushed over and over and over the smooth titles in a constant left-and-right, left-and-right, left-and-right rhythm.

Rin watched from the side lines, feeling helpless and much more like a _girl _then she had in recent months. It had been hard the first few weeks, but after a while, Rin really felt like a strong, proud and intelligent young man who worked tirelessly for the good of his Queen. But at the moment, tucked away in the corner, Rin felt like useless, waste-of-space little girl who could do nothing but stare and frown as Miki paced.

Gumi was sitting a little way away, and her face was unreadable. Her emerald eyes were glued to Miki's pacing frame, watching as her rusty brown hair bounced and her eyes grew wide and her fingers flex into fists occasionally by her thighs. Eventually, Gumi could take it not longer, and stood.

"Miki," Gumi said firmly but gently, breaking the suffocating silence that had been weighing almost bodily upon Rin's little shoulders. She almost staggered in shocked relief as the tense, noiseless period was shattered. "Please sit down. Worrying won't help at all. Come over here, Miki. We'll have some tea. You'll make some, won't you, Rin-chan?"

Gumi looked to Rin, and she nodded quickly.

"O-of course."

"You see, Miki?" Gumi twirled back to Miki with a bright, cheery smile. "Please come and sit down."

"I can't, Gumi-loid." Miki whispered, and she was still pacing. "I just can't. Mei-chan said she'd been here in two hours. Two. Less, even. It's been four. She's two hours late, Gumi."

"There's a logical explanation, Miki," Gumi stated, and she said it with such certainly it was as though she knew exactly what was going on, right down to the very last detail, and Rin almost believed her. Almost.

Because Rin knew that tone of voice; it was a tone that Len used a lot with her, whenever she was scared or lonely or in pain, a soothing and trusting and solid voice that lulled you into a sense of false security.

Miki didn't know the voice, though, and, for a moment, she appeared fooled. Her pace wavering and her eyes flashing to Gumi's glowing face and her fingers uncurling, but then something inside her told her the truth, and she resumed her pacing, and Gumi's smile crumbled away.

Rin swallowed thickly.

"Miki.." She mumbled, and her voice was way too bright and way too squeaky. Miki glanced at her. "Why don't you send a, um, messenger? That way you'll know exactly what's going on. Okay?"

Gumi's eyes brightened. "That's a brilliant idea, Rin-chan! Miki, don't you think? Send a messenger. Then you'll know what's going on in know time."

Miki stopped, and Rin could see her running over the idea in her mind; all the clogs ticking and tocking behind her skull. A part of Rin wondered whether Miki should send a couple of soldiers as well, just in case the Lady was in real danger and in need of assistance.

It was the kind of reasoning Len would use - he was always one step ahead, always thinking things through, always agonizing over the little details that held complicated plans together.

Rin wanted to be like Len. She wanted to be witty and strong and brave. She wanted to suck up all his courage and wield it like a spear. She wanted to protect _him _for once, and fill her role as the elder twin. In fact, privately, Rin wanted to rescue lots and lots of people, wanted to become a hero people adored and respected and trusted. She wanted to be _Len's _hero, the one he adored and respected and trusted. It was a selfish thought, but Rin couldn't help it.

"...Okay. Yeah, I'll do that." Miki nodded to herself. "Thanks, Rin-tan. That was a really good idea. Butler!" She raised her arms and clapped her hands swiftly, loudly, and, immediately, a butler three times the size and width of Rin strode into the room and bowed humbly to Miki. "Go and notify the Head Servant that I require a messenger immediately. He is to be sent here. Tell her she has ten minutes to select one. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Milady." The butler respectfully backed out of the room, bowing all the way, and closed the doors soundlessly; and then the _thump-thump-thump _of him running frantically down the hall echoed hollowly off the walls, following into around the bend and into the castle.

_He_, Rin thought bitterly. Always a stupid _he_. It could never be a girl, could it? A girl could _never_ go out and see the world, even if she was just carrying a message. Even if she would immediately be locked away in the castle all over again.

Rin wanted to see the world as well. It was a male hope, because, really, in the overwhelming majority of societies, men ruled everything and went everywhere while women waited patiently in their chambers, dressed in finery and draped in jewellery, looking all pretty and sparkly for when their husbands return. Queen Sonika and Miki ruled only because the King was dead, and they were assisted in their rule by those grumpy old ministers who had so enjoyed screaming at Rin one day previous. All men, of course. Lady Meiko ruled because she'd kill anyone who commanded otherwise; she'd been raised as a boy, and was as powerful as a boy, and was considered a man by many, despite her obvious _female _appearance.

All the other nations were ruled by men. Asmodin, Marlon, Lucifenia, Levianta, Elphegort. All lead by smelly, muscle-ly and overly-big _men._ Len could grow and do whatever he wanted; he was intelligent and would only get smarter, and he was good looking and would only get more attractive at the years went by and he approached his prime. But Rin would stay at home and wash cloths and cook meals until she was old and wrinkly and stumbling around on wobbling legs...

Rin's chest exploded with fury.

She _would not _become an old woman who knew nothing more of the world then her neat and tidy little kitchen! She _would not! _Not in a thousand years! Screw society! She was going to see the world - every sticken' corner of it! - and _sod off_ to anyone who went ahead and told her other wise!

"I wanna go too!" Rin exclaimed viciously, and Gumi's and Miki's heads jerked up in surprise. "Miki, let me go on the trip, too. Let me go with the messenger and check on Lady Meiko. Please! I really, really wanna go!"

Miki blinked, startled.

"R-Rin-tan, you can't," Miki began, stumbling a little over her words. "Len-chi will be so worried if I let you go -"

"Please, Miki!" Rin cried, and she raced up to Miki and grasped her hands and stared up at her with big, pleading eyes. "_Please!_ Len doesn't have to know! Just let me go, please!"

Miki stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, her red eyes narrowed in confusion. Gumi watched on, looking equally as bewildered by Rin's abrupt request, and Rin gazed up into Miki's eyes, silently praying that the elder girl took pity on her watery green eyes and caved in.

"...Okay." Miki said at last. Rin squealed with delight and started bouncing around the room. Gumi giggled. "But I'll send some soldiers. And the trip's gonna be long, you know. Mei-chan _was _at least two hours away when she went the message."

"It'll be fine!" Rin laughed as she swirled and twirled all over the place.

Miki stuck her hands on her hips, trying to look tough and adult-like, but she could feel the giggle-fit building in her chest. A tiny, near inaudible little chuckle wriggled between her disapproving frown; and then all the giggles poured out, and Miki buckled over and giggled uncontrollably into her hands. Gumi mirrored her, giggling and giggling and giggling, while Rin skipped around them, grinning from ear to ear.

Then she stopped short.

"R-Rin-tan?" Miki gasped, still wracked with giggles. "What's up?"

Rin didn't answer.

Because, just for a moment, she thought she'd heard Len scream.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>__I do not own __**Vocaloid **__or __**Vana'N Ice**__ and their Len-in-a-dress related works or mothy's __**Seven Deadly Sins **__countries._

*-* This story writes itself. Seriously. It won't listen to me anymore. It just does whatever the heck it wants to do! I guess it's entering the rebellious stage. They grow up so fast...

Anyway! The SERIOUSNESS! XD Meiko's getting attacked, Len's falling to his death! OH NOSES! xD

And Kaito kissed Len. I didn't plan that. It just...happened. (Wasn't that Kaito's excuse? x3) Sorry. Leaving you with a damned cliffy. I hate cliff hangers. They drive me insane - make me wanna skip entire chapters just to see what happened to one character and just ignore all the others. Don't worry. I'll resolve it next chapter.

...Maybe. *evil cackling*

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You all make me so happy.

I read through it, but I may have missed some mistakes. Sorry for any you found.

Thanks for reading! :D

PS. Recently, I've been reading _Mystic River _by Dennis Lehane. I love the book so far. It's brilliant. But it may have influenced my writing style a bit. Sorry, folks.

PPS. I re-wrote this chapter, like, twenty times, and I'm still not that happy with it. I hope it was acceptable.


	5. The Woman in Red Part One

_I'm going to die._

It was so cliché, but everything seemed so slow down to a pathetic trickle as Len fell, his golden hair fluttering frantically in the rapid winds his decent stirred and his dress flapping madly about his ankles - his mouth opened wide, a sharp, shrill scream piercing the air. It was shameful to scream, but Len was terrified; an ice-cold fear that clawed mercilessly at his chest and filled him with unimaginable dread.

Len could still taste Kaito's tongue on his lips. A little voice in the back of his mind wished he hadn't been so hard on the man - perhaps even asked for that second kiss after all. _Forgive me, Kaito._

Rin's round face flashed through Len's mind, and his heart clenched. Rin would be devastated. She would cry for hours, her little shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she wept for her twin brother. _Forgive me, Rin._

And then it all sped up again - the world kicking into overdrive - and the wind whistled shrilly in his ears as he fell, faster and faster and faster, and the ground leapt up to meet him, and Len squeezed his eyes shut and prayed the pain would be momentary -

"Len!"

Len's back smashed against something hard and something rounded, and all the air gushed from his lungs, leaving him breathless and disoriented. Pain flared in his spine and boiled in his blood, and for a moment, Len simply lay there, on whatever _there _was, and gaped up at a sky he could scarcely see through the curtain of tears that swelled in his eyes.

"Len, are you alright? Len!"

A loud and deep and strong voice - booming off from somewhere in the distance, it seemed to Len. A hand cupped his cheek, and gently wiped away his tears, so soft and gentle and loving it was unbelievable. _Kaito...? _Len blinked, screwing his eyes shut and willing the pain to leave him, to fly away and return to him control of his body, and, after a few, throbbing moments, the pain did subside; but it did not disappear, it simply smouldered off in the background, flickering and twitching, promising with a cruel little smirk that the agony would come later.

He blinked the tears from his eyes, and the hand carefully brushed them away, and a long, narrow face with equally narrow eyes and too-long hair filled his vision.

Len gasped.

"L-Lord G-Gakupo..." Len breathed - but his voice was barely audible, trembling and horse.

"Oh, Len," Gakupo let out a sigh of relief, and a small, but brilliant smile graced his pleasant features. "For a moment I thought you were gone."

"So did I..." Len mumbled, and winced softly as Gakupo gently lowered him into the ground, which, Len realized, was smooth and flat and completely flawless - not a stem of grass or a rounded rock in sight. He was in the sparring grounds, and the huge, circular patch of smoothness spiralled around him. He looked up at Gakupo, who, even kneeling down, was so much taller, like a giant or an ancient tree. "How...?"

"I saw you fall," Gakupo explained. "I ran over and - well, I caught you. You face drained of colour instantly and I thought your back or, worse, your neck, may have broken." Gakupo shuddered, and Len felt a prickling, chilly sensation rip down his spine. He shivered and hugged his arms close.

He had almost died. If he had fallen differently - his body jerked on it's side or his head plummeting towards the earth first rather then his back - Len would be dead, little more then a cold and white and lifeless corpse sprawled motionlessly over the dusty ground. If Gakupo had not seen him -

"You saved me, Lord Gakupo." He whispered in realization. He stared into Gakupo's face, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted. "You saved my life."

Gakupo smiled warmly, his eyes twinkling and his mouth gently curving, and Len blushed, his heart fluttering strangely in his chest.

"Anyone would have done the same, Len," Gakupo murmured modestly. His voice was even lower then before, and whispered across Len's neck, tickled and caressed his ear drums in an almost _seductive _fashion. His lips quivered as his heart did that curious little flutter again, skipping several beats before lunching into a few erratic thumps.

"O-oh, w-well, um..." Len wasn't sure what to say. His conscious mind seemed to have shut down, leaving him stranded and flustered while the separate halves of his brained warred viciously over what action to take next. Run away! One side commanded fiercely. No, stay with Lord Gakupo! The other shrieked furiously.

"...Len," Gakupo's voice brought Len slamming back to reality, and he shook himself, chasing the arguing voices far away.

"Yes, My Lord?"

Gakupo stared at him for a moment, his stony expression unreadable; and then, much to Len's surprise, he bent down, and gently parted Len's golden bangs, and planted a soft, affectionate kiss on his forehead.

Len gasped, blushed ruby red, and his heart seemed to stop beating all together; his hands began to shake, a little like Kaito's had, and, abruptly, his heart lurched, and started beating again, only now at a hundred miles an hour. Gakupo's long cheeks were coloured very faintly, but, apart from that near invisible blush, Gakupo did not seem flustered or embarrassed at all, while Len's cheeks burned beneath the older man's soft lips. His hand gently stroked Len's blushing cheek, and Len wasn't sure where to look or what to do, whether to shove the man away like he had Kaito and glare at him in the eye or thank him - seriously? - and humbly accept the gesture of affection with his eyes down or...

Gakupo's thumb moved across Len's skin in a backwards-and-forwards motion; Len's blush darkened, and spread down his neck, and up over his ears. Gakupo pulled back, still smiling that small but brilliant smile of his; and, glancing at his eyes, Len thought he saw another smugger, _cheekier _emotion there, bouncing around in the darkness of his purple iris.

"Call me Gakupo."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter <strong>F**ive**_

_**:: **The Woman in Red - Part One **::**_

* * *

><p>Hibiki Lui had a disease.<p>

It was called Chatter Box Syndrome. It was a dreadful illness that caused him to talk endlessly on a subject no-one even understood let alone cared about, and it often resulted in his being thrown out of rooms or chased into the halls or screamed at until he cried. With his girlish appearance, all was quickly forgiven and his cheeks were hastily wiped clean of the tears. But then he'd start talking again, talking and talking and _talking_, and his companions would wonder why they didn't just kill him in the first place.

Rin was beginning to wonder the same thing.

Yes, Rin liked a good chat. She loved to talk. It was her favourite past time.

But there was a point where even she wanted to scream: "SHUT UP!"

"So, you see, Rin-kun, the reason the sky is blue is because of the gases in the atmosphere. They trap the sun's light and the colours which we can see are blue, you see, but there's actually lots, lots more up there. It's pretty awesome. You know what else is awesome? Swimming. I _loooooooovvvvveee_ to go swimming. It's so much fun. Just swimming around in the cool, gentle water. It's so nice. Princess Miki is nice. Don't you think? She's pretty, too. But not as pretty as Ring. Oh, do you know Ring? She's a friend of mine. She's like my elder sister, really. We've been together for years now. She works for Miss Kasane... Miss Kasane is terrifying, huh? Like spiders. She's a big, pink-haired spider. You know, I wonder about her hair. Pink isn't a natural pigment in human hair. I can't imagine she dyed it, though, because it looks so natural and smooth.. Soft, too. I wonder what happened? Maybe -"

"Lui!" Rin screamed. She was about five seconds away from leaping off her horse and strangling the boy. "Please! Enough."

Lui frowned, hurt flashing in his round and bright orange eyes, and for a few blessed moments, he was silent. Rin let out a sigh of relief.

"...maybe she fell into a tub of wine. Because, you know, that wouldn't be as strange as it seems. Wine is a very curious liquid..."

**_OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!_**

Rin suppressed a groan, and twisted around in her saddle, and did her best to tune out Lui's insane rambling; his light, cheerful voice dancing merrily about her ear drum along side the rhythmical _thud-thud-thud-thud _of the horses' hooves clacking against the dry, stony earth, mostly devoid of life save for the half-dead grass that peered hopefully up at the sky as though silently begging for some rain and the pale, leaning trees that seemed to be screaming for the same thing. All around them, the half-dead desert of stone stretched; in the distant, it rose and fell like the waves of the ocean, and Rin guessed that was when it went from stone to sand.

Sprinkled across the desert were these tall, bulky mounds, dark and ominous against the startlingly blue background of the sky. According to Lui, they were probably made by an insect, most likely termites.

The sun was hot and merciless against her neck, and Rin tugged her hat down lower, hoping to protect her milky skin from the harsh, sizzling rays. Lui didn't seem to mind the sun, dressed in such exposing and thin attire as he was. His shorts were _very _short, and his pale legs were uncovered and naked, and his tunic was sleeveless, and the only article of clothing that clung to his equally pale arms was a thick orange, belt-like band wrapped loosely around his wrist. There was a large black bow at his throat, and his dusty brown hair was cut short and cursed slightly at the ends, leaving his neck just as exposed as Rin's was.

The four soldiers accompanying them didn't seem to mind the sun, either, or they would have fled into the shade by now. Their armour was heavy and glinted silvery in the bright sunlight, and the clothing beneath was thick and padded. It was a wonder they hadn't collapsed from heat-stroke.

Rin blinked against the sun's light and stared across the stony plain. They had left Miki's castle a solid four or so hours ago, and they had hurried through the peaceful, open and cool country side of Rosemaria before abruptly reaching a sudden rise in temperature, and along with it a dense and green and humid stretch of towering trees with broad leaves and gnarled roots that erupted from the earth like fossilized waves.

Now, after what seemed like a life time of riding, they had reached Dragonstone Desert. It was from somewhere near in this vast, stony expanse that Lady Sakine sent word via messenger hawk of her rapid arrival.

Rin, at the start of the trip, had thought it would be easy as pie for Lady Sakine to gallop into Rosemaria. She thought the road from Rosemaria to Belzenia was flat and made for swift travel. She now knew it was anything _but_. How Lady Sakine hoped to ride through that thick jungle of a forest within two hours was beyond Rin. _She's probably still trekking along somewhere out here! Stupid, over-confident woman..._

Suddenly, Lui tugged at his horse's reigns and brought the huge, honey-coloured beast to a stop. Rin and the soldiers copied him; Rin peered at him curiously.

"Lui-san? What's up?"

"Sake caught up with us," He replied. He lifted his arm, and parted his lips slightly, and then let loose a high-pitched, screeching whistle that made Rin's hair stand on end. A moment later, a similar whistle returned his call, and a crimson coloured bird flew down to hover above Lui, flapping it's broad, feathery winds. They were streaked with orange and yellow and other shades of red, all of which seemed to glow and gleam in the brilliant, golden rays of the sun.

Lui made a clucking nose with his tongue. The bird lowered itself onto Lui's unprotected arm, pressing it's gigantic, grey talons against Lui's white skin.

Rin gasped.

"Lui! You can't let that thing sit on your bear arm!" She wailed in alarm, and the bird's golden eyes snapped to her face. "It'll rip you apart!"

Lui frowned; he looked annoyed, and somewhat offended.

"First of all, Rin-kun, Sake isn't an _it._ Sake is a _she._Second, I know what I'm doing. I'm a Messenger. I work with these birds everyday. Third, Sake knows what she's doing. She works with Messengers everyday." The bird - Sake - ruffled her red-orange-yellow feathers and gave a little whistle of confirmation. "Have a little more faith in us, would you? She may be Lady Sakine's Messenger Bird, but she's a Messenger Bird all the same."

Rin stared wearily in reply. That huge bird was making her nervous. Lui could say whatever he wanted; Rin would always see that muscular bundle of fiery feathers as a death machine without conscious thinking, a creature that could rip her to shreds in a matter of seconds if it so desired.

"So, we're in the right spot, then?" She asked.

Lui glanced at Sake. The bird made some tweeting noises.

Lui turned back to Rin and nodded. "Yeah. Lady Sakine should be somewhere around here."

Rin stared. _Who is this guy? Doctor Dolittle? The Bird Whisperer?_

"Can you direct us in a more accurate direction?" One of the soldiers asked suddenly, his voice low and deep and partly muffled by his helmet. It gleamed a bright white when it caught the sun, and Rin winced, looking away.

Lui told them what he knew, occasionally looking to Sake for assistance, and the bird appeared happy to help with whatever information he needed. Without questioning his insane methods, the soldiers nodded, and quickly organized themselves into teams. Team 1 would scout ahead and check for signs of danger, while Team 2 stayed with Lui and Rin and guided them along Team 1's approved path.

"If we encounter danger," The solider continued. His name, Rin remembered, was Akaito. "You, Sir Kagamine, are to stick with Gumo, and you, Sir Hibiki, go with Bruno. Stick to them like glue, but if worst comes to worst, flee on your horses. Just run and don't look back. Do you understand?"

Rin nodded, silent, while Lui sighed and reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Me and Dell are going to scout ahead. We'll send back a signal once we've OK-ed enough land. Stay here with Bruno and Gumo until the signal. Got it?" Akaito's narrow, glittering red eyes flickered from Rin to Lui, but Rin noticed they lingered on her face for in inappropriate amount of time. A bubble of indigence swelled within her little chest as Rin realized he suspected her to be a trouble-maker - a vicious little boy who did no more then struggle against authority like Akaito. Rin stared back, blue eyes blazing with defiance.

She had hoped to nullify Akaito's fears - show through her fiery, flaring gaze that she was strong and loyal - but instead Akaito sighed, as though she had confirmed whatever belittling thought drifting through his brain to be fact, and Rin tensed as he tapped the horse's flanks with his foot and whispered something to another solider - Gumo, Rin supposed. Then he and Dell were off, galloping down the path and sending a dust storm of sand swirling about the horses' hooves.

_Jerk._ Rin thought tartly, glaring at his retreating form. _I hope a desert lion swallows you whole._

Whether desert lions were real or not, Rin didn't know, but it was nice to dream.

Lui, shockingly, didn't immediately launch into a conversation the moment Akaito - aka JERK FACE - and Dell disappeared into the distances. Instead, he murmured beneath his breath to the fiery hawk, and she twittered and clucked and crooned in reply, and though she sounded sweet and harmless, Rin couldn't look away from those huge, glinting talons wrapped securely around Lui's arm. How they weren't slicing into his skin and ripping his delicate limb into ribbons was beyond Rin. As far as she knew, those talons could crush bone and Lui's arm was not all that thick nor strong, and should have been easily wrenched apart by the bird.

"Oh, is that the signal?" Lui asked suddenly, pointing with his free hand and Rin whipped around and tightened her grip on the reigns, prepared to spring her horse into motion at any moment. Peering across the sizzling desert, Rin saw a distant flare of orange fire - it swirled through the open air and licked hungrily at the sky and burned furiously for several seconds, giving them plenty of time to digest it's existence and it's location.

"Yeah." Gumo confirmed. "Let's get going -"

"Hold on," Bruno interrupted, and he lifted his hand. A signal of silence.

Gumo did not look like he wanted to be silent, but, out of respect for the older and more experienced solider, he kept his mouth shut. Rin glanced at him - and almost fell out of her chair. He looked _just _like Gumi! His green hair was, perhaps, a few shades darker, and his sparkling emerald eyes were noticeably narrower and his chin slightly squarer and shoulders broader - but he could have been Gumi's twin!

Gumo glanced at her and grinned. "What?"

"N-nothing!" Rin squeaked.

"Silence." Bruno growled irritably, and Rin pouted. Why was the guy so stubborn? That flare was obviously the signal from Jerk Face and his friend Dory. Or Daniel. Or Dell. Whatever. Rin honestly didn't care - all she cared about was finding Lady Sakine and getting back to Rosemaria before she shrivelled up and materialized into ash under these unforgiving rays of sunlight. (And, more importantly, before Len found out she was gone. He'd have a heart attack.)

She glanced at Gumo and he winked at her. He held his hand at the side of his head and spun his pointer finger around in a small circle and let his tongue lolly out of his mouth; with his free hand, jabbed an accusing finger at Bruno's safely turned back. _Crazy!_ Laughter tickled Rin's chest and her shoulders began to shake with the effort of keeping them suppressed.

"I said, _silence_." Bruno snapped icily from his horse.

Gumo rolled his eyes at Rin, who flashed him a cheeky grin and wriggled her fingers in Bruno's direction. _Loser_, she mouthed. Gumo snorted - a loud sound that exploded in the near-silence of the desert - and Bruno whipped round and slapped his horse into a swift trod and held his hand right up in Gumo's face. Gumo leaned back slightly in his saddle, his eyes widened in alarm, and Rin gasped softly and Lui squeaked with surprise.

"I **said**," Bruno snarled viciously. "_**SILENCE!**_"

"_BRUNO!_"

Rin whirled round in her saddle and saw Akaito and Daniel - Dory? Dell? - riding back towards them in a churning cloud of sandy yellow dust that swirled about their frantically galloping horses and the lightning-quick lashes of their short whips. Rin felt fear bubble up in her chest. They were riding too quickly - something must have happened -

_Thump_

Rin frowned as the sound reached her ears and swung back around, and Gumo was staring wide-eyed at Bruno's glossy black horse, and Lui was stroking Sake's fiery feathers and murmuring soothing nothings under his breath and Bruno was on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his throat and blood was pooling everywhere -

Rin froze.

"Shit," Gumo hissed. "_Shit._" Moving like lightning, he withdrew his sword and the silvery blade caught the light and shone like a star.

"Both of you, go!" Gumo commanded. When they simply stared at him, shell-shocked, he lifted his sword and kicked his horse's flanks harshly with the corner of his boots. "GO!"

That bubble of fear in Rin's chest exploded into a raging inferno of overpowering terror, and with a little cry she bashed her boots against her horse's side with too much force. It screamed in alarm and reared backwards, and Rin shrieked and clung desperately to it's neck. The horse lashed out as the salty, copper-like smell of blood stabbed at it's nostrils, and Lui cried out as his horse - startled by Rin's - bucked as well. Taken off guard, Lui did not grasp the horse's thick neck, and was unceremoniously flung from the saddle and crashed bodily against the desert floor.

He lay there, unmoving. A small stream of red trickled across his forehead, weaving through his hair.

"Lui!" Rin screamed.

"Go! GO NOW!" Gumo yelled, and suddenly arrows were flying from all directions - some burned with fire, others simply sped towards them, undetectable save for the shrill whistle of the wind as they flew - and men were pouring in from every direction. Behind them, Rin could hear Akaito and Dell yelling and their horses' neighing furiously and the _thud-thud-thud-thud_ of their hooves bashing and clapping and clattering against the stone floor.

A man painted cream to match the surroundings foolishly lunged at Gumo without considering the fact he was on horse back, and Gumo cut him down with a simple twitch of his wrist. Blood splattered against the earth and Rin's gut churched with disgust and horror and fear and panic gripped her mind.

Another man carrying a quiver of arrows locked with her terrified gaze and she saw nothing but intense and unimaginable hate and rage and loathing boiling and burning in his eyes - and the fiery, beast-like lust to kill and to slaughter and to rip through flesh and spill blood, her blood, her flesh, to kill her, _her_, he was going to _kill her, _she was _going to __**die**__, I'm going to __**die**__ -_

_**I'm going to die -**_

Thinking of nothing but escaping the slaughter she hastily flicked the reigns and her horse rocketed away from the battle, half-crazed itself with fear, and the wild rocking of the horse's back almost sent Rin flying, and she threw her arms desperately about it's neck and clung as though her life depended on it - which it did.

Rin had no control over the horse now. It ran madly, furiously, aimlessly - simply racing to escape the suffocating scent of blood and the sounds of screaming and the thunderous smashes of hooves against stone and the soldiers and those cream-coloured men and the fight itself. Rin squeezed her eyes shut and willed the world to vanish - willed herself to believe she was back at the castle with Len, only they weren't cross-dressing and they weren't hiding and they were just having fun with Mama and Papa - but all she could see was Lui's face. She noted how pale it was, how all the colour seemed to have drained from his cheeks in a matter of five seconds. How red the blood was as it snaked across his forehead, like some grotesque crimson river. How dazed and lifeless his once twinkling orange eyes had been.

_Is Lui dead?_

Rin's heart clenched in her chest.

No. NO! It couldn't be true. He'd been alive a mere twenty minutes ago. They'd been talking a little - though, for once in her life, it was Rin who mostly did the listening rather then the chatting - and Lui had been full of life, his round cheeks rosy and his eyes bright and Sake was perched on his arm, trilling, and he'd smile and stroke her feathers and -

_He lay there, unmoving. A small stream of red trickled across his forehead, weaving through his hair._

Rin's eyes snapped open and the world was rushing past her in a blur of blue and cream and brown. The horse's breathing was laboured and it's hooves were slipping and sliding dangerously over the plates of stone but it refused to stop, driven by insane fear made only worse by it's limited intelligence.

The reigns were flapping in the air, and Rin grabbed at them, and just managed to clasp them between her trembling fingers. She had to go back and help Lui. She had left him there - for dead - just lying on the ground, where he could be so easily trampled by a frightened or angry horse or run through or set alight by one of those men. Alone on the ground, he was as good as dead, and Rin had to help him. She just _had _to!

"I'm coming, Lui," She whispered under her breath.

Then she wrenched the reigns as hard as she could and her horse screeched with alarm and pain as the leather bit into it's tender neck skin. It almost reared up again, briefly lifting itself off the ground only to stumble backwards a few steps and snort loudly and shake it's head so it's black mane whipped and slapped at the empty air.

Rin ran her hands along it's glossy neck and whispered nonsense words of comfort, words she knew the animal could not understand, but surely it could recognize the soothing, calming tone Rin was desperately attempting to replicate.

After a moment, the horse calmed down, but Rin could still see the lingering fear and anxiety flickering it it's round, black eyes. Rin smiled warmly - she wasn't sure why. Would the horse even understand a smile? - and stroked it's neck some more.

"It's okay," She promised the startled animal. "It's okay now. Alright? It's all good. We just need to go and get Lui. Okay? Can you stay calm for me? Just for a little while longer? Please?"

The horse, unsurprisingly, didn't reply. Rin felt her shoulders slump a little. A small part of her had been hoping it would respond in some way, if only a little twitch of an ear.

"Good. Thanks." Rin mumbled anyway. She grabbed the reigns and gave them a tiny, weak little flick, and the horse started to trot. She turned it back towards the battle, and felt something hot and bright and golden bloom in her chest - courage. And determination. Fierce, unyielding determination. She was going to save Lui or die trying. Len would be sad if she died - but at least he'd know she'd died trying to save another life.

Rin's grip tightened on the reigns.

She felt so big and powerful and proud of herself that she couldn't help but grin. She could have turned her horse back to Rosemaria and sobbed into Len's shoulder and wailed about how sad it was that Lui was dead. Instead, she was going to save him. Like a hero would.

"Come on!" She shouted jubilantly, kicking the horse's flanks. "Let's go!"

The horse erupted into a gallop and Rin leaned forward slightly and the wind whistled through her hair and cooled the beads of hot sweat on her face and Rin silently begged that Lui was still alive, that no-one had gotten to him - perhaps Sake had tried to protect him. She seemed more intelligent them most birds. Perhaps she could tell the difference between friend and foe.

With that thought in mind, Rin's determination increased, and she gave the reigns another encouraging flick. Beneath her, the horse's massive, powerful muscles tensed and throbbed and bulged, and she could almost feel the strength and power racing through it's limbs. It may not be smart, but this horse was strong - and, perhaps, brave, if it's rider set a better example.

A glint of silver caught Rin's eye, and she whipped around and ducked, excepting an arrow to whistle menacingly over her head. But instead she caught sight of a glistening silver river that twisted and wound and snaked it's way across the barren, lifeless landscape.

And by that river, a sword resting on her knee and her brown hair strung back in a stubby pony-tail, was Lady Sakine Meiko.

"Lady Sakine!" Rin gasped aloud. She was alive! She hastily pulled the reigns and steered the horse into an abrupt turn. Lady Sakine was armed and an experienced fighter - a thousand times stronger then Rin could ever hope to be. With that red-eyed woman at her side, Rin's chances of rescuing Lui and coming out of the fight alive increased dramatically.

She had a problem, though. The part of desert on which Rin and her horse rode was raised above the river, and the closer you got to the edge, the weaker and thinner and more unstable the ground became. A small part even curved out over the river, and that slab was perilously thin - even someone as light as Rin could shatter that slab into falling fragments of sand stone.

Rin brought the horse to a stop and examined the area. The urgency to move and save Lui was burning like a raging flame in her chest, and beads of sweat tickled down her cheeks. The edge was a definite no-go area. The horse was too heavy. Further along, the ground was thicker and noticeably more stable and Rin saw there was a dusty path leading down to the water's edge - but it was extremely steep and narrow and seemed slippery, like ice, to Rin's eyes. She couldn't take the horse down there - she would have to go herself.

Moving quickly, she swung off the beast and hastily tied it to one of those termite mounds Lui had so enjoyed gossiping about, and stroked the beast's slender snout before racing back to the river. She tried calling out to Lady Sakine, but her voice was too small and was easily carried away by the wailing desert winds. Rin hadn't expected it too work. After all, wouldn't Lady Sakine have heard the sound of her horse approaching? They'd been riding extremely fast and loudly. Or the sounds the battle. Rin could hear them even here, the metallic hiss of metal against metal and the screams of dying men and the wild shrieks of petrified horses, though they were muffled by distance.

Rin glanced at the path. Between her and it, there was some of that thin stone that could give way at any moment - if the right amount of pressure was applied. Rin weighed nearly nothing.

Still, she moved forward cautiously and carefully. She took a hesitant step forward, froze and waited. The ground held. She took another, and another, and another, and still the ground remained firm and intact beneath her booted feet. Confidence swelled in her chest and she began to increase her pace. She remembered Lui lying on the stone, eyes dull and blood leaking from his skull, and moved even faster.

She hoped his dead-like appearance had caused those strange men to leave him alone. After all, what was the point of stabbing a dead boy? It was nothing more then a waste of time and effort. Perhaps they simply left him there on the ground and went off to fight Gumo, Akaito and Dell - Bruno was dead already, Rin realized with a shudder. And it had happened so quickly. One moment, he was alive and kicking and shouting in Gumo's face. The next - gone. Dead. A lifeless corpse on the ground.

Shit.

A chill ripped up Rin's spine. How easy it was to kill a man. You need only blink, and a life can be lost. _All the more reason to hurry_, she reminded herself. _Lui's life can be lost in the blink on an eye, too._

She was almost there now. The path was rapidly approaching. She glanced down and saw Lady Sakine stand and walk away from the river and slip inside a make-shift tent. A moment later, she re-emerged with a fat man wearing glossy pants and a sweat-stained shirt, and led him to the water. He gulped hungrily at the shimmering waves, and Lady Sakine patted his back encouraging - just like Rin with her horse - before plopping down beside him and taking a swig from her canteen.

_So she isn't the sole survivor. _Rin thought with a sigh of relief. _Thank goodness _-

A whistle, and pain exploded in Rin's leg and she screamed with pain and alarm. The pain roared in her blood and swept through her body and for a moment, she reeled, her thoughts colliding with icy panic and fiery pain and she stumbled this and way that before shaking herself back into reality and looking down and seeing the blood oozing down her left leg and the arrow that had ripped through it.

_Oh my God Oh my God Oh my GodOhmygod__**OhmygodOhmygod **__-_

Rin heart lurched in her chest and thundered against her rib cage and only caused the blood to flow faster, squirting out of her leg and splattering against the creamy stone. The pain abruptly vanished and Rin realized she was going into shock. She wasn't sure if that was good or not. Len had talked to her about it a long time ago. He'd been smaller and even thinner then he was now, with larger eyes and a rounder chin and bonier wrists. And his hair had been much shorter. Darker, too. More grime spread through it.

God. The random things you thought of when in shock.

Rin heard another whistle and managed to heave herself to one side just as the arrow flew past her - cutting through the area which her chest had once occupied. It smashed into the stone and cracks leapt from the arrow point and crept across the ground, snaking ominously towards Rin like blood-hungry demons.

Rin let out a little cry and limped backwards, away from the winding, searching cracks, and twisted around and caught sight of her attacker. He was painted cream like all the others, with some of that half-dead grass they'd passed earlier plastered to his arms and legs, and he was putting his arrows away and reaching for his sword.

Rin gasped and her eyes widened in terror. That man was going to kill her! She searched the area frantically for her horse and saw it was still tied up to the mound, watching the man with terrified eyes. She could try to run over, but with her leg the way it was, she'd never reach it in time, let alone heave herself on. Rin swallowed thickly. The man was too big for her to fight - his arm muscles alone were larger then her head, and his legs were long and bulged with muscles and slammed audibly against the stone as he ran -

Rin jolted as reality hit her.

The man was big. Really, really big. He must have weighed a tonne.

And that means -

Rin's breath hitched in her throat.

The stone wouldn't be able to hold him.

Rin opened her mouth to scream - to make him stop, to warn him of the danger - but it was too late, the man was already upon her, and the moment his gigantic, powerful feet crashed against the thin stone, it shattered like broken glass. The slabs beneath Rin heaved and bucked upwards, and Rin lost her balance. She rolled uncontrollably down the jerking slabs and screamed the whole way, and she was thrown about like a rag doll and stones ripped and lashed and stabbed at her unprotected limbs and her leg burned like an agony that consumed her, the shock wearing off as abruptly as it came - and suddenly the earth beneath her gave way - crumbled like dust, scattered to the wind - and she was falling, falling freely towards the river.

"Ah..." Rin gasped.

_Bye, Len._

And then her body smashed against the water, and she knew no more.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>__I do not own __**Vocaloid **__or __**Vana'N Ice**_ _and their Len-in-a-dress related works or mothy's __**Seven Deadly Sins **__countries._

O_O RINNY! _**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_

lol.

So, YAY, quick up date, peoples! Thanks for all those awesome reviews. You have no idea how incredibly happy they make me.

Next chapter goes back to Gakupo and Len :D Piko might come back, too, for a little bit. Let Jealous!Gakupo rear his ugly face once again. But there'll be cute moments too. x3 Gaku x Len is cute, in a weird way.

For those who don't know, Hibiki Lui is a new Vocaloid3 shota. He's got two designs because he was picked out of a design competition. I don't dislike the new design, but I prefer the original one, so that's how I described him. Ring is the blue-haired girl he was shown with. Again, prefer her original design, so that's how I'll describe her if she comes into the story.

Sorry for the cliffy! But it's fun to write. The chapters long, too, so I've compensated.

I read through it, but, once again, I may have missed something. I apologize for any mistakes you found.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! PLEASE REIVEW! I GIVE YOU BANANA COOKIE!


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